At First Sight
by teammccord
Summary: "Love knows not distance; it hath no continent; its eyes are for the stars." Henry and Elizabeth meet in college.
1. Chapter 1

A/N: I've always wondered how Elizabeth and Henry met, so here is my take on it. This will be multi-chapter, enjoy!

Henry McCord was making his way toward Professor Watkins' office, waiting for his first meeting with the scholar as his new TA. He had just started his master's degree in theology and ethics, and was excited, if not a bit apprehensive, to be working with the most experienced religion professor at the university. As he neared the office, he saw a younger student waiting nervously at the door, holding a stack of papers in her hands.

She was tall, blonde, and well put together, he noted as he stood next to her, stealing glances when he could. She must be an upperclassman waiting for help on a paper, he thought, as Professor Watkins only taught advanced lectures. Henry couldn't help noticing how beautiful she was, glasses perched on her nose, flipping through the pages of her paper. He immediately knew he had to talk to her, get to know her, and for the life of him couldn't say why.

"Waiting to meet with Watkins?" he asked.

"Yes," she answered, looking up briefly.

Lord, she had beautiful eyes, Henry thought, seeing a sparkle in them he had never seen anywhere before.

"What class of his are you taking?" he prodded further.

"Religious Ethics in Catholicism," she answered, clearly more interested in her paper than a conversation with him.

Defeated, Henry leaned back against the wall and waited for Professor Watkins to usher him in. After a few minutes, the door to the office opened, and a booming voice called out: "Henry McCord, please come in."

Henry walked into the office, leaving the young woman outside, waiting. The meeting went by quickly, and Henry was satisfied. The professor's wishes seemed strict, but the research opportunities he could be awarded for good work were amazing. He didn't particularly like the man he was about to be working with, but respected his work and experience.

"Thank you, professor," Henry said, as the two men shook hands. "I look forward to seeing you Monday."

He opened the door, ready to leave, when Professor Watkins spoke. "Wait a moment, Henry," he said, and motioned for Henry to sit down. Then he called out the door: "Elizabeth Adams, come in."

Turning to Henry, he nodded. "See a teacher at work, and learn."

Elizabeth Adams walked into the office, and Henry smiled at her, happy to now know her name. Elizabeth seemed fitting somehow, he thought, and wondered why he had been asked to stay on if all she was here for was help on a paper he didn't know anything about.

"Miss Adams," Professor Watkins began, "you are taking Religious Ethics in Catholicism, correct?"

"Yes," she answered, clearly uncomfortable with the situation.

"What year are you?"

"I am a first-year, sir."

"You are aware this is an advanced class, Miss, and normally open only to upperclassmen?" the professor asked, in a tone that Henry was slightly uncomfortable with.

"Yes, sir, and I was told the advanced credits I earned at Houghton Hall would be accepted here and allow me to take higher-level courses."

She was wealthy, Henry thought, and clearly intelligent. He was learning more about the woman before him, and she was becoming more interesting by the second.

"Very well. That still does not explain your paper, which might I say, I am most infuriated by."

At this comment, Henry looked up at Elizabeth and wondered what on earth she could have done.

"Proposing a further inclusion of women into pastoral functions in the Catholic Church, and alluding to sexism within Church doctrine? Unacceptable, especially coming from a woman! Have you no respect for the Church and the privilege you have to be studying it at this institution? If it were my decision, I would have you removed from my course, or perhaps the entire department, at once!"

Elizabeth's head sunk, and she looked like she was about to cry. Henry was appalled. How could a professor, of religion and ethics nonetheless, be so blatantly chauvinistic and sexist? He wanted desperately to defend her, but Elizabeth was faster.

"With all due respect, professor, I resent the notion that I have no respect for this institution, church or department. I am immensely grateful for the opportunity to be studying here, and have already learned a great deal from the faculty. One of those things, professor, is the notion of equality and justice, something I see lacking in your prejudiced attack on my person. You have every right to criticize my paper, yes, but to degrade my work on the sole fact that I am a woman? That sir, is unacceptable to _me_."

With that, she left the room, and a stunned Henry, closing the door behind her. Professor Watkins turned to him, clearly ready to begin a verbal attack on Elizabeth, but Henry was quicker.

"Sir, I believe I cannot accept the TA position after all."

He slammed the door behind him, and ran down the hall to find Elizabeth. What an asshole the professor was! He had to find Elizabeth, comfort her, and explain. He never should have been in that room, or at least taken the opportunity to defend her, not that her eloquent defence hadn't been more than enough. He felt like an ass himself, leaving her to fend for herself, not being able to help in any way.

Eventually, Henry found Elizabeth on a bench in a corner, sobbing. He sat next to her, and began to speak.

"Hey, I'm so sorry for what happened in there. I never knew Watkins was such a pig. I honestly shouldn't have been there. Is there anything I can do to help?"

Elizabeth looked up with tear-stained eyes. "What, after sitting in there in total silence, watching him chew me out?"

"I can't even begin to apologize about that. I had no idea why he kept me there, and I was ready to say something, but then you tore him down with that badass speech, that was honestly one of the greatest things I've ever heard."

Elizabeth chuckled at this, and couldn't help but smile. "Thanks," she said. "I'm Elizabeth Adams, by the way."

"So I've heard." They shook hands and smiled, and Henry could have sworn a jolt of electricity passed between them at that moment. "Henry McCord."

He mustered all of his courage then, and asked "Wanna go grab some coffee?"

"Sure," she said, and Henry was elated. She was beautiful, and smart and somehow willing to go drink coffee with the guy who'd just left her hanging in a supremely awkward situation. They got up and made their way to the nearest coffee shop, making meaningless small talk about the January weather and what classes she had taken her first semester.

When they sat down at the coffee shop and both simultaneously ordered a cappuccino, they burst out laughing. Henry couldn't help the grin that was spreading across his face, and the thought that this was somehow meant to be. He watched Elizabeth curl up in the armchair and sip her coffee, and wondered how he'd gotten so lucky to be at the right place at the right time.

"What do I do about Watkins now?" she asked, clearly concerned, "I can't go into that class again, he'd fail me! And if I ask to drop it now, they'd ask why. And what dean would believe me over a tenured religious scholar?"

"A dean that was talking to you and the guy who was his new TA as of this morning, and then declined before storming out of his office following his sexist outburst."

"Wait, what? You gave up a TA opportunity because of my paper?"

"Well, that and the fact that he's a chauvinistic ass. I can find another professor to work for, that's not a problem. The problem is how he treated you, and I'm not going to let him stand for that. So, you, me, the dean's office tomorrow morning?"

"Thank you so much," Elizabeth said. "I couldn't do it without you."

"Sure you could," Henry answered, "after your badass comeback earlier, I have no doubt you could go in there alone. I just don't want you to have to."

They talked for hours, losing track of time and telling each other their life stories.

He learned she was 19, a first-year, from Virginia. She grew up around horses, and had lost her parents when she was twelve. She and her brother, whom she was always incredibly annoyed by, had been at boarding school ever since, and she threw herself into her schoolwork to cope with the loss.

She learned he was 22, nearly 23, and just starting his masters. He was from Pennsylvania, had two sisters, and that the way he was paying for his education was through the ROTC, which, according to his steel-worker father, was a better choice for his son than religious studies and ethics.

Out of the corner of his eye, Henry saw the clock read 5:04 p.m. "I have to go, I'm so sorry."

"No problem. I'll see you tomorrow at seven, at the dean's office," she said, and got up to say goodbye. They shook hands, which seemed awkward and formal considering they had talked for hours, but they both turned away before they could comment on it.

As Henry made his way across the grounds that night, he couldn't help but hoping that something more would come out of this unlikely meeting with Elizabeth, and that she felt the same way too.

A/N: Thank you so much for reading, the next chapter will be from Elizabeth's perspective.


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: Thank you for the amazing feedback! I just wanted to let you know this story is going to go on for a while, I'm in it for the long haul. So, here's Elizabeth's perspective, enjoy!

Gathering her things and starting on the way back to her dorm room, Elizabeth Adams couldn't help but smile when she thought of what had happened that day. The complete chew out by Watkins notwithstanding, she was still stunned by the chance meeting she had with Henry.

He was smart, genuine, and undeniably sexy, and she thanked the lucky stars he found her and asked her out to coffee after she stormed out of the office. She honestly expected him to treat her like Watkins had, but instead he was incredibly kind, and managed to make her laugh with his comments. When they had both ordered the same thing at the coffee shop, she was sure he was someone special she shouldn't let go of quickly.

That's why Elizabeth Adams, notoriously reserved about her personal life and the loss of her parents, told him everything. She told him about Will, and Joey, and how when she was little she dreamed of being a superhero on horseback, just like her dad said she would be one day. And how, when her parents died, she gave up that dream for school, stability, and making sure she kept Will out of trouble. And when Henry's response to her was: "It's never too late to be a superhero, hell, you were one today!" she could have sworn her heart melted a little.

Then it was his turn to share his life with her, and she listened to the stories of his dad giving up hope that his only son would be a steel worker, and how he began to shut him out when he said he wanted to study religion. He told her of his mom and sisters, whom he loved to death but who teased him constantly for being the little brother, and how he was going to be an uncle soon. When she told him she was sure he'd make a great one, he grinned and her heart melted a little bit more.

Now Elizabeth had arrived at her dorm, unlocked the door, and plopped down on her bed. Her roommate, Julia, looked up from the book she was reading.

"Hey Liz, where have you been?"

"Oh, getting chewed out by Watkins about my paper who said, and I quote: 'Unacceptable, especially coming from a woman! Have you no respect for the Church and the privilege you have to be studying it at this institution?'" Elizabeth buried her face in her pillow, and wondered how she'd face tomorrow — even with Henry by her side.

"That's awful! The man's a chauvinistic asshole! He should be fired!"

"That's exactly what Henry said," Elizabeth muttered.

"And who, may I ask, is Henry?" Julia suddenly seemed far more intrigued by the prospect of her roommate having met a boy than her sexist professor, and looked at Elizabeth expectantly. Truth be told, Elizabeth had not gone out with anyone since she got to college, and Julia was concerned her friend was either far too focused on studying or not settling in well enough, so any news of male company was to be celebrated.

"The guy who was supposed to TA for Watkins but turned it down after he saw how he treated me," Elizabeth answered, blushing.

"Ooh, an older man," Julia remarked, with a gleam in her eyes, "Tell me everything. Is he suave, sexy, a good kisser? What's he studying, and does he by chance have any eligible friends?"

"Well, he is handsome, and getting his masters in theology and ethics. As for the good kisser, and eligible friends part, I have no idea. We just met this afternoon, and we went out for coffee, and ended up talking for hours." Elizabeth rolled on her back to look up at the ceiling, staring into blank space as she thought of her and Henry's conversation.

"Well, Liz Adams, if I didn't know you any better, I'd say you're falling for that guy, and hard!" At this, Elizabeth began to protest, but was quickly silenced by Julia. "Honey, it's good! Let loose, live a little! When are you seeing him again?"

"Tomorrow morning, at seven. He's coming with me to report Watkins' behaviour to the dean."

"Now that's something I'd like to see, not that I will, of course," she quickly added when she caught a glimpse of the death glare Elizabeth was shooting her from across the room. "But seriously, is that not the definition of a good guy or what?"

"He is incredibly sweet," Elizabeth admitted. The two roommates talked about Henry and the day until they went to bed, and Elizabeth's dreams were filled by the perfect stranger she met that afternoon.

At seven o'clock the next morning, Elizabeth arrived at the dean's office, bundled up in a coat and a big, woollen scarf to keep out the January weather. She smiled when she saw Henry approaching. "Hey there," he said. "You ready for this?"

"As ready as I'll ever be." Just then, Henry reached down to squeeze her hand reassuringly, and she felt sparks fly.

"Well, then, let's do this," he said, letting go of her hand and pushing the door to the dean's office open.

"Good morning, Elizabeth and Henry," Dean Peters said, and motioned for the pair to sit down. "What brings you to my office today?"

"Good morning, Dean," Elizabeth began. "I came here to request to drop R304 Religious Ethics in Catholicism, with professor Watkins."

"Isn't this the class you specifically requested to take, which is highly unusual for a first-year student, and the professor that you, Henry, were about to begin a Teacher's Assistant position for?"

"Yes," the both answered simultaneously, and glanced at one another.

"Why then," the dean asked, "have you had such a change of heart?"

"It's a rather uncomfortable situation, sir, but when I went to the professor yesterday to receive a comment on my paper, he said my thoughts in the assignment were unacceptable, coming from a woman, and that he doubts my respect for the Church and the opportunity I have to be studying it here."

The dean looked at them both, shocked. He had personally always held Professor Watkins to the highest regard, and could not believe he would have acted this way. "And you, Henry, do you have anything to say about this?" Dean Peters trusted Henry, he had been one of the shining students in the undergraduate theology department, and came highly recommended by his former professors. He was sure Henry would tell the truth, no matter how uncomfortable.

"I was in the room sir, when it happened, and I can confirm everything that Elizabeth said. I declined the TA position shortly thereafter."

With both students in agreement, Dean Peters was left with a decision to make. "First, I would like to apologize to you, Elizabeth, for the way you were treated. You may certainly drop the class and replace it with another, schedule permitting. As for you, Henry, I will be happy to inquire into other TA opportunities in the department. And, Professor Watkins will have to answer for his actions, and will be dealt with accordingly. I hope this remedies at least a bit of this highly unacceptable situation."

"Thank you, sir," Elizabeth and Henry replied. They both said goodbye to the dean, happy it had gone so well, but knowing there would be a meeting with them, the dean and Professor Watkins in the near future.

Stepping outside into the chilly air, Elizabeth couldn't help but smile. "Thank you Henry, for coming to the dean's office with me, I truly appreciate it."

"No problem," Henry replied, "He had it coming one way or another."

Elizabeth laughed, and turned to face Henry. "Well, one good thing did come out of this whole mess," she flirted. "I met you."

At this, she stood up on her tip-toes and pressed a kiss to Henry's cheek, blushing as she planted her heels on the ground again. Henry grinned and took her hands in his, tracing circles over the backs of them as he looked at her eyes. She could almost feel him staring deeply into her soul, reading her like a book. They both moved, as if in unison, and their lips met. Elizabeth felt butterflies in her stomach as she stood there, in the cold, kissing Henry McCord.

When their kiss broke, Henry flirted back. "I could say the same good thing happened to me too then, because I met you."

At this, Elizabeth flung her arms around his neck and they met in a passionate kiss. He moved his arms around her waist, pulling her close, as her tongue demanded entrance to his mouth. They stood there for what seemed like ages, making out like a pair of love-struck teenagers (which, really, they were), stopping only to get air. Eventually, the kissing subsided, and they rested their foreheads together, breathing hard.

"That was," Elizabeth said, panting, "well…"

"No words?" Henry teased, "Are we just that good at this?"

She giggled infectiously, and punched him in the arm playfully. "I have to get to class, as much as I'd like to stay out here with you."

"Let me walk you there," he offered, and she accepted happily. "And while we're on our way, I must ask when I'm allowed to take you out to dinner, Elizabeth."

"Anytime you like," she answered, linking their arms as they started walking across the grounds, "Although Friday seems like a more concrete plan."

"A plan it is then."


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: Switching back to Henry here! Thank you all for the continued feedback, it makes me so happy to see you like it!

As Henry walked Elizabeth to her next class, he felt like the luckiest guy in the world. He, Henry McCord, had just kissed the most beautiful woman in the world, and she was willing to go out to dinner with him.

They spent the rest of their walk in friendly banter, teasing one another and flirting like they had known each other for years. Henry couldn't help but be amazed at how natural being with her felt, and how much they had to talk about. He'd had girlfriends before, sure, and they'd always talked, but with Elizabeth it felt different. Even though he didn't know where this would go, he was sure of one thing — he wanted her in his life one way or another.

Henry and Elizabeth agreed to go to dinner that Friday, at eight, and he was looking forward to surprising her with where they were going to go eat.

At eight on the dot, Henry knocked on Elizabeth's door, and held his breath. He'd never been this nervous before a date, and began to pace up and down the hallway to calm himself down. When Elizabeth walked out of the door, his breath hitched in his throat. Lord, she was gorgeous, he thought. She was wearing a navy blue dress with black boots, and a shimmering silver necklace hung around her neck. Her coat was grey and woollen, and she was in the process of wrapping a plaid scarf around her neck when he managed to speak.

"Hi," was all he could say as he looked at her, utterly lost for words.

"Hey yourself," she answered. "Nice suit, by the way."

"Thank you. You look beautiful tonight." At this, she blushed, and reached out to hold his hand. "Shall we?" he asked.

"We shall, although I still haven't the slightest idea where you're taking me — it could be an old abandoned factory for all I know, complete with all the tools an axe murderer needs."

He laughed at her theory, and teased her right back. "I can guarantee I'm not taking you to an old warehouse, and besides, I do all my best axe murdering over French food anyway."

They soon fell into a comfortable banter on the way to the restaurant, a tiny French hole-in-the-wall he'd discovered a while back but never found an opportunity to go to. Now he had one, he realized, smiling when he thought of the plans he had for the evening.

They were seated at a cozy table in a far corner of the restaurant, illuminated by the soft glow of candles and string lights, and Elizabeth looked around in wonder. "I've been back in this town for almost five months now, and I can't believe I've never seen this place. It's beautiful, Henry."

"I'm happy you like it, I've never actually been here either, I haven't had an occasion until now." He reached over the table to take a hold of her hand, and began tracing mindless patterns on the back of it. They sat there, in perfectly content silence, just taking in the moment, when they were interrupted by a waiter.

After they ordered (he was amazed by how well she spoke French, and was familiar with all the dishes) they fell into easy discussion.

"How does a political science major from Virginia speak fluent French?" he asked after a while.

"By going to boarding school and forced summer school in Paris," she answered. "After Will and I moved in with our aunt and uncle, it became clear they had never wanted children — hence the boarding school. They decided the best thing to do with us was to send us off to school somewhere so they didn't have to worry, or take care of us themselves. So I lived in Paris in the summers, et voilà, j'ai appris le Français!"

"Elizabeth, I'm so sorry." Henry felt bad for bringing up old memories, and wondered how on earth her aunt and uncle could have been so cold and neglectful.

"Oh, it's no big deal, I met some of the kindest people in Paris, and besides, it was better than being ignored at home. Hey, don't pity me! The drinking age in France is way lower than here, so in some ways, summers in Paris were a huge benefit." She winked at Henry before continuing. "Now, if I may ask, how does the son of a steel worker become a religion major?"

"I was an altar boy at Our Lady of Good Counsel, and one Sunday, Father Joseph asked me to ring the bells during the mass. And it was time, and I looked up at Father Joseph, and I didn't ring the bells. My best friend Tommy was playing hockey on the pond a couple weeks earlier, and he went under the ice. He… they, they couldn't save him," Henry choked back a tear before continuing, "After mass, Father Joseph told me it was okay I didn't ring the bells. He said, 'God goes silent on us all.' That sealed the deal for me, and I've been fascinated by religion ever since."

"Oh, Henry, now it's my turn to apologize. I'm so sorry about your friend."

If he was honest, Henry wasn't even sure why he had told Elizabeth about Tommy. Usually, it was too painful to bring up, and he'd make up some suave story about theology and wanting to understand what others blindly believed that satisfied whomever he was talking to. But he felt Elizabeth deserved more, not just because she opened up to him, but out of some innate need to be open with her, to be honest, and because in some strange way, he felt she would understand.

Their food arrived at that moment, and Henry was glad there was something to fill the silence. They ate quietly, until they both looked up and began to speak.

"You first," Henry said.

"No, you go ahead."

"Well, I was just going to say we have a surprisingly deep, and somewhat depressing dinner conversation going on, not exactly the light, flirty first date I imagined — not that I'm complaining."

"I was going to say the same thing," Elizabeth replied, chuckling. "Although we could flirt more, if that's what you want." She made sure to wink at him, and tried to eat her next bite of food as seductively as she could, before erupting into an infectious stream of giggles.  
"I'm sorry," she managed between laughs, "that sounded way, way better in my head."

Henry started laughing too then, and the tension was broken. They spent the rest of dinner talking about lighter things, joking, teasing and making each other laugh. When the bill came, and Henry paid, he smiled at Elizabeth and told her, "I have one more surprise up my sleeve, if you're up for a bit of a walk."

"Always, where are we headed?"

"That, I'm afraid, I cannot disclose."

"A man of mystery, I see."

They made their way out of the restaurant and toward the park right next to campus, where Henry led them to a bridge by the pond, which was still frozen over from the cold. In the moonlight, the ice had a blue, almost ethereal glow, and the pond and bridge were flanked by tall evergreens. It was the perfect, secluded, romantic place, and Henry was thrilled to be sharing it with Elizabeth.

She moved close to him, resting her head on his shoulder, and he pulled her closer, wrapping his arms around her. "It's perfect Henry, and the moonlight, I had no idea you were such a romantic."

"Only because I'm here with you." He kissed the top of her head and took her hands in his. "You must be freezing, Elizabeth, your hands are like ice blocks."

"Well, I know one thing we can do about that." She placed her hands on his chest, and he covered them with his as she leaned up to capture his lips in a drugging kiss. He cupped her cheeks and pulled her closer, as their tongues demanded entrance to each other's mouths.

Breathing hard, they pulled apart. "Why do we always do this outside, in the freezing cold?" he asked, "Who's idea was that?"

"I could say yours, since you brought us to the bridge, but I'd be happy to continue someplace warmer," she flirted, with a gleam in her eyes.

"Sounds like a plan."

Henry and Elizabeth made their way back to his apartment, wanting to be alone and avoid what Elizabeth warned would be the "never ending interrogation from Julia" if they showed up at her dorm room. Henry's apartment was a small studio, all he could afford as a student, but cozy nonetheless. When they arrived, he took her coat, ever the gentleman, and motioned toward the couch.

"Sit, please. Would you like some water?"

"Yes, thank you. Any plans, Mr. McCord?"

"Well, I have some old movies on VHS we could watch — Casablanca, Citizen Kane, the Breakfast Club, Ferris Bueller's Day Off…"

She laughed at his ridiculous assortment of movies and they eventually settled on Casablanca, curling up on the couch together with a bowl of popcorn he made. Pretty soon the movie was no longer the main focus, now serving as the background track to a good old-fashioned make out session. As the credits rolled, Henry could feel Elizabeth drifting to sleep in his arms, so he quietly turned off the TV and lights, and found a throw to cover her sleeping form. Instinctively, she moved closer and her arms wrapped around him, and so they both fell asleep on the couch together.


	4. Chapter 4

A/N: I'm so, so, so sorry it has taken so incredibly long to update this, but I'm in Austria visiting relatives at the moment (Grüße an alle die auch in Österreich sind) and couldn't get to it sooner! I hope you like this update!

Elizabeth woke up to sunlight filtering in through the blinds, and for a moment, didn't know where she was. The she felt Henry's chest beneath her head, and his arm around her waist. She tried not to move, slightly disoriented, so as not to wake him. She was still fully clothed, she noted, and so was he. Nothing had happened. Thank goodness. Not that she wasn't open to the possibility, it was just too early. What she and Henry had was special, and she wanted to wait until it was absolutely right.

Kissing him however, she wasn't the least bit opposed to, and so she leant up to peck his cheek when she felt him starting to move. "Morning," she said.

"Good morning to you too," Henry answered, rubbing sleep from his eyes. He leant down to kiss her forehead, and mumbled "Coffee?"

"Coffee sounds perfect, thank you." As he made his way to the kitchen, she couldn't help but notice how adorable sleepy Henry was, hair sticking out in all directions, and not completely coherent yet. The steaming mugs of coffee he set in front of them seemed to perk him up though.

"So, we watched Casablanca and then fell asleep last night…" he tried to clarify.

"That we did. A good movie, by the way, from what I remember." She left out the fact that she hadn't been fully present for much of it, more focused on kissing Henry, something she was sure she'd never tire of.

"Hm, very good indeed," he commented, remembering what happened, and leaned over to kiss her. "Breakfast?"

"Yes, please, I'm starving!"

They sat down with breakfast at his tiny kitchen table, and decided what to do with the day. "I definitely have to get back to my dorm," Elizabeth said, between spoonfuls of cereal. "Otherwise, Julia will think I really did go out with an axe murderer and I'm lying in a ditch somewhere."

He laughed at this and added, "Fair, and besides, I have to meet with the professor I'm going to start TAing for anyway. He apparently holds office hours on Saturdays, which is a bit weird…"

"I guess I'll get going then," she said, picking up her bowl and mug and placing them in Henry's sink. "Thank you for a wonderful dinner, and breakfast too."

He walked her to the door to let her out, and kissed her one more time before she stepped into the hallway. "You're welcome, Elizabeth. Any time."

"Bye Henry," she called over her shoulder and headed out into the cold.

Over the next week, Elizabeth and Henry only saw each other once briefly for coffee, with both of them were busy and stressed as the new semester was getting into full gear. She had classes and boatloads of papers to write, and Henry was busy grading papers and doing research in the archives. Even Julia was too busy to obsess over her roommate's new boyfriend, which Elizabeth appreciated to no end. Julia had a tendency to want to dissect every conversation into the last detail, and Elizabeth just wanted to be happy with Henry and enjoy their time together.

On Friday, she decided they had worked enough and decided to surprise Henry with a date and a movie — in the hopes that he wouldn't mind watching it in his apartment. Armed with _Breakfast at Tiffany's_ , popcorn and chocolate, she knocked on his door at eight and waited for him to answer. When she heard him say: "It's unlocked, please come in," she pushed the door open. Henry was sitting cross-legged on the floor of his living room, surrounded on all sides by old manuscripts, notepads, books, and cups of coffee. His hair was ruffled, he was sporting a stubble, and looked a bit worse for wear, but brightened immediately when he saw who was standing in his apartment.

"Elizabeth! Hi! What are you doing here? Not that I'm complaining," he added as he stood up, careful not to spill any coffee on his books and made his way over to her, kissing her briefly.

"Hey yourself, I thought I'd surprise you with a date, but seeing as I'm a freshman living on a student budget, a restaurant wouldn't have worked out very well. So I brought this." She held up the VHS and snacks with a shrug, unsure if Henry was in the mood for a movie, or had to keep working on whatever it was he was doing.

"God, you're perfect," Henry said, "I've been working on this research paper since Wednesday and I've barely had a chance to leave, not to mention that I'm suffering from complete and utter writer's block right now. A movie sounds absolutely wonderful."

"I'm glad you like the idea, though I must say the pensive writer among books look suits you very well," she flirted, turning toward his kitchen to deposit her coat and things on the table. She made sure to glance back on her way and wink before slipping behind the dividing wall, out of Henry's sight. He followed her immediately, and wrapped his hands around her waist from behind, nuzzling her neck and planting kisses up and down it. She turned around in his arms to kiss him and she lost herself in his kisses, running her hands through his already disheveled hair as he moved his up and down her back, settling on her hips. Breathless, they broke the kiss to get air, and stood facing each other, unsure what to do next.

"Popcorn?" Elizabeth suggested, and moved to pick up the packet she brought.

"Sounds great. I'll get the movie started."

Elizabeth and Henry were soon snuggled together on his couch watching _Breakfast at Tiffany's_ , rooting for Holly Golightly and Paul Varjak's eventual happy end. When the credits started rolling, Elizabeth turned to face Henry. "So, how'd you like it?"

"Well, contrary to what my obvious jock/fratboy physique and lifestyle dictates," he joked, and she nudged him in the arm playfully, "I have seen the movie a few times before. Audrey Hepburn, is in my opinion, still one of the best actresses of all time. And I have to agree with her. 'People don't belong to people.' I think people have to choose to be with one another, and spend their time together. No one belongs to anyone else, but you can have the privilege of sharing your life with someone. As Kahlil Gilbran said: 'Love possesses not nor would it be possessed: For love is sufficient unto love.' How about you?"

If Elizabeth hadn't been completely smitten with Henry before, she was sure she'd fallen for him now. He sat opposite her, sleep-deprived, with ruffled hair, quoting a philosopher she'd never known anyone but her to know. So she did what seemed most natural, and leaned over to place a kiss on his cheek. "You're kinda perfect, you know that right?" Henry blushed and busied himself with turning off the VCR as Elizabeth studied his floor of books, papers and notes. "What are you writing about, if I may ask?"

"The Waldensian Movement From Waldo to the Reformation, which suffered persecution at the hands of the established church mainly for the 'sin' of translating the Bible into the vernacular. Not the most exciting topic, I'm afraid."

"Not at all," she replied. "It's fascinating how strong a hold the church had on either illiterate followers or those who didn't speak or read Latin and thus were limited and bound to the interpretation of the Bible by the one pastor they came across in their lives. Being able to read the text themselves must have been incredibly liberating, and have led to heated discussions."

Henry was floored — he'd never expected her to know anything about the topic, or be acquainted with the Catholic Church pre-Reformation. She was incredible, he thought to himself. "All very true, and precisely why I chose this topic, though it's been giving me grief for the past few hours. I'm so glad you came by, honestly, otherwise I'd still be sitting there."

"Well, now you have the best excuse to procrastinate a bit longer," she said coyly, and turned back to Henry, kissing him fully on the mouth. They fell back on the couch together as their kisses became more heated, and Henry's hand found its way under Elizabeth's sweater, brushing up and down her soft skin. Her hands began to wander as well, underneath his sweatshirt, and their kissing became increasingly frantic. When she let out a soft sigh, Henry leant up to look her in the eyes.

"Elizabeth, are you sure about this? Because we'll only do what you're comfortable with…"

"Henry, I'm sure," she replied. "And I'll tell you if I change my mind. Are you sure?"

"I'm sure." With that, Henry picked her up from the sofa and she squealed as he carried her to his bedroom and deposited her on the bed. He moved on top of her and began kissing her neck and collarbones, loving how much she was enjoying this. Soon, clothes were shed and they landed next to each other with contented sighs.

"That was," Elizabeth said, panting, "well…"

"No words?" Henry teased, "Are we just that good at this too?"

Elizabeth smacked him on the chest playfully and rolled into his embrace. He pulled the covers over them both and kissed her forehead as he felt her falling asleep.

"Goodnight, babe," he mumbled before dozing off himself.

A/N: All my knowledge (or lack thereof) of the Catholic church is from school and Google, so please excuse any errors!


	5. Chapter 5

_A/N: Thank you for the feedback! You have no idea how happy it makes me to know you've been liking the story! Also, I finally figured out how to correctly upload a cover photo ;)_

At 6:15 a.m., Henry McCord woke up to his alarm, silently cursing Professor Johnson for rescheduling their weekly meetings to Saturdays at seven. He tried his best to slip out of Elizabeth's embrace without waking her up to stop the blaring noise on his nightstand, but she was quicker and smacked his alarm with a groan.

"Why the hell do you have an alarm set for now?" she grumbled, burying her face in a pillow to shut out the light.

"Because Professor Johnson wants to be more 'efficient,' and 'get things done earlier' on the weekend," Henry replied, kissing Elizabeth's neck, "Sorry babe. You wait here, get some more sleep, and I'll be back before you know it."

"Fine, but be quick, you're warm," she acquiesced, pulling the sheets around her head, already missing Henry's warm embrace on the rather chilly morning, "Also, 'babe' is new, and I kinda like it," she added, smiling.

"Well, I kinda like you," Henry replied and bent down to kiss the top of her head before getting up to go to the bathroom. This gave Elizabeth the perfect opportunity to peer out from her cocoon and thoroughly check him out. He was in shape, from the ROTC she guessed, and made a morning stubble look very, very good. He disappeared into the bathroom far too quickly for her liking, and she was left in the bed by herself.

Too awake to doze off again, Elizabeth couldn't help but start to think back on the two and a half weeks she and Henry had known each other. She was astonished at how well they got along, and how comfortable she felt being and sharing things with him, as commitment and openness hadn't come easy after her parents died. Henry was different though, she had realized immediately — far more attentive and caring than any other boyfriend she'd had before. He made her laugh too, and was quick and witty, but she knew she could also get into deep, philosophical discussions with him, and was sure that even if he disagreed with her opinions, he'd always be respectful. She'd learned that at Houghton Hall with Joey — always be considerate, and agree to disagree. And, she thought with a smirk, the sex last night had been very, very good.

Henry reemerged a few minutes later, showered and dressed, and opened his dresser, rummaging around to find a pair of pyjama pants and a sweater he could lend Elizabeth. He tossed them over to her as he grabbed his glasses from his nightstand and said goodbye. With a promise to bring back breakfast, Henry made his way to his professor's office.

The walk took a good fifteen minutes, which gave him enough time to think about the two and a half weeks he'd known Elizabeth. She was incredible: kind, considerate, smart and sharp-witted, always keeping him on his toes. He seemed to never run out of things to talk about with her, and hadn't felt so comfortable sharing things with anyone for a long time. Besides that, the kissing, and the sex — well that had been pretty great too. Henry walked up the stairs in the building where Professor Johnson had his office right on time, and was ushered inside soon afterward.

The meeting went by quickly and Henry was on the way back to his apartment, making sure to stop by the bakery across the street. He picked up croissants and a danish and walked back home, glad he was free to spend the rest of the day with Elizabeth.

He found her curled up in his bed, sleeping soundly and quietly stripped down to his boxers and t-shirt so he could climb in next to her. Spooning her sleeping form from behind, Henry quickly dozed off himself.

Elizabeth woke up about an hour later, and turned so she was facing Henry. She moved to kiss him on the cheek and then let her lips travel down to his neck and back up to his lips when she saw his eyes open. "Morning again," he said, kissing her back, "This is a much better way to wake up, compared to the alarm before. I'm sorry about that."

"Well, it was very, very early," she teased, drawing out each "very" for emphasis.

"I brought breakfast, if that makes it any better," he teased back, "Fresh croissants, and a danish if you want it."

"You're forgiven," she replied, smirking as she pressed her lips to his in a long, drugging kiss. Before Henry had any chance to recover or continue what she had started, Elizabeth had gotten up and made her way to the kitchen. "I worked up quite an appetite from last night, I'll have you know," she called from across the hall, and Henry made quick work of following her and starting a pot of coffee.

They sat down at the table and began to plan out the rest of the day. Henry had to go to the archives again, to pick up another book for his paper, and Elizabeth had an assignment to finish at the library. She also knew Julia had been pestering her on and off for days about when she was going to meet the elusive, suave mystery man, as she called Henry. They decided coffee that afternoon would be a good plan, and allow everyone to get enough work done before meeting up later.

At three, Elizabeth arrived at the coffee shop on campus, and found a table by the window with a comfortable couch and a wing backed armchair. She sat down on the couch and waited for the others to arrive. Julia was the first one there, and ran over to Elizabeth excitedly.

"Liz, this is beyond exciting! I'm meeting mystery man today!"

"Hi to you too, and please, don't make a big fuss about it, it's just coffee," Elizabeth replied, trying to keep her roommate calm and collected, but to no avail.

"Just coffee, but with the guy you just spent a night with! Liz, I know you had to work on that paper, which is why you left the room so soon after you got back, but I need details, please, I'm dying over here," Julia begged, slumping into the armchair dramatically.

"Fine," Elizabeth gave in, knowing there was no other way to stop the onslaught of questions. She gave Julia a basic account of the previous night, sparing a description of what had happened in Henry's bedroom. Julia's imagination was wild enough on its own, and needed no further encouragement.

Henry walked into the coffee shop at that moment, and glanced around to find Elizabeth. He spotted her in the corner with who he assumed must be Julia, and walked over to the two women. "Hi Elizabeth," he said, as she got up and he kissed her cheek.

"Hey yourself," she replied and added, stretching out her hand, "Henry, this is Julia, Julia, this is Henry."  
"Pleased to meet you," Henry said, and shook Julia's hand before sitting down next to Elizabeth.

"Likewise," Julia answered, "I've heard so much about you."

"Only good things, I hope." Henry chuckled. "Sorry I'm late by the way, I got stuck at the archives, lost in a book, but I think I might be making headway on that paper. The movie last night was just what I needed to give my brain a break."

"What are you writing about?" Julia asked, trying to learn more about her roommate's boyfriend.

"Nothing very exciting, just the Waldensian Movement From Waldo to the Reformation," Henry answered.

Julia didn't seem particularly interested in the topic, and quickly steered the conversation in another direction, so the three of them focused more on talking about how Elizabeth and Julia were faring in their second semester, and how Henry met Elizabeth.

"Honestly, it must have been fate," Julia gushed, "you two get along so well, it's just perfect!" Henry and Elizabeth both blushed at this, which only caused Julia's smile to broaden, excited she now had a relationship to obsess over. She really was a sweet person, Elizabeth thought, and a great roommate, but just a bit boy crazy. The rest of the afternoon was spent in easy discussion, and Henry was beginning to like Elizabeth's roommate, as bubbly and high energy as she was.

When the group noticed it was five already, they decided to call it a day — Elizabeth and Julia were going to head back to the dorms, and Henry had to call his sister, whose baby was due in the next few weeks. As they said goodbye outside the coffee shop, Julia had an idea. "Listen, there's gonna be a little shindig tomorrow night hosted by the psych students, and I heard their parties are always amazing. We should totally go! You guys can go together, I'll tag along, find a cute upperclassman, and it'll be great! What do you think?"  
"Well…" Elizabeth began, unsure if Henry would be up for a college party since he was so busy with his paper.

"What'd you say we check it out?" Henry suggested to her surprise, nudging her arm. "If it's horrible, it'll be a story to tell for later."

"All right, it's official!" Julia beamed, "Tomorrow night at 10, Henry will meet us at Copely Hall, and we'll head over together!"

 _A/N: To be continued… Also, thank you to RenDot for requesting I write a bit of internal monologue, I had that planned from the get-go but didn't really know where to put it until now._


	6. Chapter 6

_A/N: I realize I have taken a ridiculously long time to update, so sorry! I've been a bit swamped with school and the fact that I'm stage managing the spring musical… Anyway, here goes chapter six! All knowledge of college parties is from movies and TV, so please excuse any unrealistic plot lines!_

It was 10 on Sunday night, and, as promised, Henry was waiting at the front entrance to Copley Hall. He could already hear music and indistinct noise from the top floor, and figured the party must had to be in full swing already. He honestly wasn't sure why he had agreed to come — parties weren't usually his scene, he preferred a quiet evening with friends over loud, rambunctious gatherings. So he surprised himself, and figured if he could spend time with Elizabeth, it might even be fun.

Since Henry had begun his Master's his social circle had been, honestly, limited. Not that he didn't have friends — he had his friends from undergrad, his ROTC buddies, and some acquaintances from the theology department, sure, but no one he'd spend time with regularly, until Elizabeth, that was. But Henry couldn't consider Elizabeth as just a friend, no, this was becoming serious, so that left him with little options. Maybe, he thought to himself, he'd meet a few guys here with whom he could go out for beers, like he'd done with Jack and Andrew at during undergrad.

As Henry was pondering potential friendships, Elizabeth and Julia were on their way to Copley Hall. Elizabeth didn't really know what to expect from the party, having never really been to a big one like this. She had been out and everything, in Paris, and at little parties first semester, but nothing at this scale. Usually, she just spent a quiet evening with friends, having dinner, talking or watching TV. She preferred being able to hold a conversation at a normal volume over screaming across a crowded room, but was willing to check the party out, if only to spend more time with Henry. As she and Julia walked around the corner, Julia immediately spotted Henry, and called out: "Hey! Over here! Aren't you beyond excited for this?"

Henry waved back at Julia, and Elizabeth could tell he was not quite as excited as her roommate was. She couldn't suppress a smirk, and Henry clearly saw it, as he made a face right back. Thankfully, Julia was to preoccupied to notice, and the three of them said hello before heading upstairs.

The party was typical: loud music, stuffy air, lots of alcohol and, if you wanted it, some other stuff in the back. Someone had found black lights, so everyone's teeth and light clothing were fluorescing in the glow of the lighting. In the middle of the common area, a makeshift bar and dance floor had been set up, and a college student moonlighting as a DJ was camped out in the corner, surrounded by equipment he was definitely too drunk to remember how to use. When they entered, Julia immediately gravitated toward the dancing, letting out a "Wohoo!" as she made her way across the room. Elizabeth and Henry were left by the entrance, and they looked at one another, unsure of what to do next. Finally, Elizabeth pulled Henry's arm and dragged him into the crowd, smiling. "There's a first time for everything!"

Henry briefly wondered if she'd read his mind, or was speaking for herself, before following her into the mass of people. Because of the lack of space and amount of people crowding it, they were squished together as they moved to the music. Elizabeth felt Henry's arms wrap around her waist, and she leant up to kiss him. If all parties included this, she could definitely get used to it, she thought, and snaked her arm around Henry's neck.

"So," Henry asked after a few minutes of dancing, shouting over the music, "having fun?"

"With you, yes," she answered, "but it's getting a little tight! Could we maybe move over there?" Elizabeth pointed toward a few shabby old sofas in the corner, filled with a few people who were either too drunk or tired to move. As Henry nodded in agreement and they made their way over, Elizabeth breathed a sigh of relief. She had been getting a bit claustrophobic in the crowd, and was glad to be at the sofas. Henry plopped down in the corner and pulled Elizabeth's hand so she sat halfway in his lap, leaning on his shoulder.

"You know," he began "this is a prime opportunity for social observation of the Homo sapiens collegiensis in his natural habitat. Found in great numbers at social gatherings, this species seeks out deafeningly loud noises and a loss of control due to inebriation when searching for a pastime. Watch as we observe one majestic specimen in a pink polo shirt approach his potential mate, who will, in good sense, turn him down with — wait for it — a drink to the face!"

Elizabeth laughed out loud at Henry's description, and decided to continue on with the joke. "Further members of the species enjoy jerking rhythmically to synthesized noises, challenging fellow homo sapiens collegiensis to drinking contests, or engaging in very public mating rituals," she added, glancing at couple that was obviously very occupied with making out on the neighbouring sofa. "Over all, the intelligence quotient of this particular sample can be estimated as very low, judging from their lack of inhibition and self-control."

"We could go on National Geographic with this," Henry laughed, "we'd be the newest ratings sensation!"

Elizabeth and Henry stayed in their corner a little longer, watching the people around them and occasionally going back to their absurd narration, giggling whenever something crazy found its way into the descriptions. They both also kept an eye out for Julia, but she seemed happy, chatting in the corner with some friends.

"Should we go and join them?" Elizabeth asked, and Henry nodded.

"Why not?" With that, they made their way across the room, and stopped next to Julia, who turned around grinning.

"Everyone, this is Liz, my roommate, and her boyfriend Henry. Liz, Henry, this is everyone." Elizabeth and Henry looked at each other briefly while they said hello to "everyone," having never actually discussed where they stood in their relationship. Henry knew Elizabeth was special, and that he was ready for something serious, but didn't know if she felt the same way. The truth was that Elizabeth was feeling exactly the same, but wasn't sure how Henry wanted to classify their relationship.

The group soon fell into easy discussion, and Henry and Elizabeth learned everyone's majors and what year they were in. Henry was surprised to find another student, Todd, was also getting his Master's from the theology department, and they decided to meet up after classes to work on research that week. Elizabeth met a fellow political science major named Wendy who happened to be in one of her big lectures, and they were quick to rant about the boring and monotonous way their professor went on and on and on when he spoke.

Everyone was talking and having a good time, when Trent, another guy in the group who was clearly a bit tipsy, shifted the conversation to Elizabeth.

"So, where are you from?" he asked, staring at Elizabeth with an intensity that made her slightly uncomfortable.

"Virginia," she answered.

"Me too. I was at T.C. Williams. What high school did you go to?"

"I actually went to boarding school, in Connecticut, at Houghton Hall." Something in Trent's expression shifted when she said that. Generally, Elizabeth tried not to make a big deal of where she had gone to school, and she half expected people to judge her for her upbringing and family.

"Well, well, aren't we Daddy's little rich girl…" Trent taunted. "I had you pegged as the rich girl from the start, I could just tell. Must be wonderful to have parents that can get you into any school you want and set up a huge trust fund, am I right? You know, some people actually had to work to get here, but I doubt you'd get it."

Elizabeth was stunned. What on earth had just happened? Trent stood smirking across from her, and before Elizabeth could formulate any reply to his crazy accusation, Henry had stepped in.

"Who do you think you are, accusing Elizabeth of working any less than you to get here? I can't speak for her, but how drunk, naïve and insecure do you have to get to attack someone for their upbringing, no matter what it was? That baffles me, and I'm honestly not sure if I should feel bad for you or continue to explain why your behaviour is freaking immature and insensitive."

"Seriously, we need our boyfriend to defend us? How pathetic," Trent retorted. At this point, everyone else in the group was looking at Elizabeth and Trent, absolutely stunned. She began to stand up to Trent, when Henry tried to speak for her again.

"Elizabeth," he began. She couldn't stand it anymore, knowing Henry only wanted to protect her, but desperately needing to leave and be alone, away from it all. She knew she needed a good, smart comeback, but now, all she could do was cry and run out of the room. She headed down the hallway, unsure of where she wanted to go, and stopped when she found an alcove by a window, sinking down the wall and pulling her legs up to her chest, sobbing. She hated being judged for her family, she had enough experience with that from high school (and her relatives themselves), and she had hoped it would stop in college. She also hated being spoken for, even though she knew full well that Henry had all the right intentions. Elizabeth Adams was too independent to not express her own opinions, and she had thought Henry understood she didn't need a guy looking out for her, she could do that on her own.

Elizabeth didn't notice Henry sliding down the wall beside her until he started gently rub circles on her back. She looked up at him, teary-eyed, unsure of what to do next. She was reminded of their first meeting after the disaster with Watkins, where Henry had found her in a similar position afterwards.

"Elizabeth, I'm so, so sorry for what happened back there, not only with Trent, but me too. I know you can defend yourself, and should have had the opportunity to talk, but he just made me so damn angry. I overstepped, and I'm sorry."

"I can't say it didn't bother me, but it's okay, Henry, I know you meant well." She leant her head on his shoulder, not wanting to be mad at him anymore. She sighed, and he wrapped his arm around her, pulling her close.

"I wish people like Trent just didn't exist," she said. "It's impossible, I know, but why can't everyone be kind to one another? Would that be so hard?"

Henry chuckled. "Sadly, it would, babe, but I'm sure someday you'll help make the world a kinder place, and until then, we'll just have to deal with drunk douches every once in a while."

"Henry McCord, I swear you always know exactly what to say to make me feel better. Thank you." She pressed a kiss to his cheek before continuing. "Also, when Julia introduced us, I realized, well, this is probably a really bad time to talk about this, but, we've never 'made rules,' or anything… so…"

Elizabeth was rambling, which Henry found endearing, and confirmed exactly how he felt about the relationship too. "Well, if what you want to ask is where we stand, we can talk about that," he said. "If it's okay with you, you're not getting rid of me that easy, Elizabeth. I'm _in_ this."

"Well," Elizabeth smiled, "you're not getting rid of me that easy either, cos I plan on sticking around for a while too."


	7. Chapter 7

_A/N: So I know that Henry has a sister from the press releases, and that she probably doesn't like Elizabeth, but I couldn't figure out which one of her children was the oldest (loads of googling went into the making of this chapter) so if I got it wrong, we'll find out when 2x13 airs! Enjoy!_

Over the next few weeks, Elizabeth and Henry were in the perfect, happy, new-couple bubble. They watched movies, went out to dinner, spent nights at Henry's apartment and went out for coffee. It was blissful, and they were both giddy with the novelty of it all, constantly learning new things about each other. They found out they both loved to read, old classics mostly, and delighted in the fact that they now had someone to talk about books with. Henry found out Elizabeth could beat him at Scrabble with her eyes closed, and she wouldn't pass up an opportunity to tease him when he tried playing words that definitely _did not_ exist.

After a botched attempt by Elizabeth to make Henry breakfast, they came to the conclusion that she was the worst cook either of them had met. From then on, Henry was in charge of cooking, and the only time Elizabeth went near the kitchen was for sandwiches, cereal, or to keep Henry company. They soon developed a close circle of friends, mostly from the disastrous party (Wendy, Todd, Lisa, Julia and her new boyfriend Matt) with whom they explored the city, went out for drinks, and played elaborate games of charades. In short, it was perfect.

One Friday morning, Elizabeth rolled over in her bed, waking up to a blaring alarm. Julia was already up and clearly the morning person, because she smiled at Elizabeth brightly. "Morning sleepyhead, Henry left a message a while ago, said he wanted to meet you in front of Lewis before your first class. No idea why, but he sounded happy."

"Thanks, and morning to you too," Elizabeth replied groggily. "I'll look out for him. I bet it's something with his sister, she was due to go into labour anytime this week."

When Elizabeth arrived at Lewis, she saw Henry waiting in front of the door, smiling. "Hi babe," he called, and wrapped his arms around her when she came close, kissing her fully on the mouth.

"Hi yourself, you're very happy today," Elizabeth replied when their kiss broke.

"I know, I became an uncle this morning! How exciting is that?"

"Very, Henry. Girl or boy?"

"A boy, his name is John. My sister is still in the hospital with him, and I was going to go visit her this afternoon, since she's only a half hour away."

"That sounds like a great idea. I'm sure she'll be ecstatic to see you."

"I was wondering, Elizabeth, if you…" Henry hesitated slightly, "if you wanted to come with me. She'd be thrilled to meet you."

"Are you sure?" Elizabeth asked. Meeting Henry's sister seemed like an awfully big step, considering she'd just had a baby and Elizabeth hadn't met anyone in Henry's family yet.

"I'm sure babe," Henry reassured her, and pressed a kiss to her cheek. "Meet me at my place at four?"

"Okay," she acquiesced, and slipped her hand out of his, walking inside for her first class. All day Elizabeth couldn't help but think about meeting Henry's sister, and when her last class ended, she headed over to his apartment, unsure of what was about to come.

The drive to the hospital was quiet, and Elizabeth was happy to see Henry so excited for his sister, she could tell he clearly loved her and was excited to meet his nephew. As they exited the car and walked through the hospital doors, Henry grabbed Elizabeth's hand and pulled her close. A nurse showed them the way to the delivery room Henry's sister was in, and they pushed the door open to find a young woman sitting on the bed, holding a newborn.

She looked a little like Henry, Elizabeth noted, but had blonde hair instead of Henry's dark brown locks. She was pretty though, and seemed to have taken the birth well. She was gazing down at her child, and almost didn't notice the couple enter her room. Only when Henry whispered "Hi Maureen," did she glance up and smile.

"Hi little brother," she replied. "I'm happy you came."

"Me too." Henry moved over to stand next to his sister, and Elizabeth stayed by the door to give them some space. She could see Henry and his sister talking and her boyfriend cooing at the baby. She briefly wondered how Henry would act around his own children, but pushed the thought out of her head quickly. Too soon, she thought to herself. As she watched him pick up his nephew — John, she remembered — he turned around and waved her over. She approached the three of them cautiously, and smiled at Maureen.

"Hi," she said quietly, "he's beautiful."

"Maureen, this is Elizabeth. Elizabeth, my sister Maureen."

"Hello Elizabeth," Maureen replied. "I've heard so much about you." Her greeting seemed kind, but Elizabeth couldn't help but notice an undertone to her words she didn't particularly like. It had to be from the stress of giving birth, she decided, and didn't give it a second thought.

"Anyway, we're so excited to meet John," Henry continued, not having noticed anything. He was too wrapped up in the baby to notice Maureen's husband Tom enter the room.

"Henry," he exclaimed, clearly happy to see his brother in law. "And you must be Elizabeth, the one Henry can't stop talking about." She blushed at this, and turned to Henry, who shrugged, smiling. He really was too perfect, she thought. Tom was very nice, and made Elizabeth feel right at home. The four adults started talking about the birth and pregnancy, pausing every once in a while to comment on how cute John looked in his little blue hat and onesie, snuggled up in his bassinet. It was all going well until Maureen turned to Elizabeth and began to ask questions.

"So tell me," she began, "how did you two meet?"

"Well, Henry was supposed to start TAing for a professor who called me into his office to discuss a paper I wrote. He asked Henry to stay while he talked to me, and long story short, completely chewed me out for being a woman and having an opinion. I stormed out, Henry followed me, apologized for being there and saying nothing," she gave her boyfriend a coy glance, "and asked me out to coffee. Somehow, I said yes, and now we're here."

"Well, Henry must be glad you weren't deterred by the enormous level of geekiness and dorkiness that emanates from his very soul," Tom joked, "Once he gets into quoting, I don't think he knows how to stop."

"Oh I'm aware." Elizabeth leaned in conspiratorially, "His huge crush on Thomas Aquinas is obvious. I'm not sure I can compete."

Tom laughed and turned to Henry. "Well, she's a keeper, for sure. Knows how to keep you on your toes." Henry blushed, and looked over at Elizabeth, who smiled politely. Oh she was enjoying this, she thought, looking forward to learning more about her boyfriend and his family. All the while, Maureen had kept pretty quiet, but suddenly piped up.

"Henry mentioned you were from Virginia. I was wondering from where exactly?"

"Oh, outside Charlottesville. My parents had horses there, and after, we moved to Bethesda to live with my aunt and uncle, when we weren't at Houghton Hall."

"Houghton Hall?"

"Boarding school, in Connecticut."

"Ahh," Maureen remarked, and Elizabeth could sense a bit of disdain in her voice. She brushed it off and smiled sweetly. "Anything else you'd like to know?"

Maureen shook her head, and turned to Tom. "Honey, why don't you and Henry go get some coffee and water, and Elizabeth and I can talk some more."

"Sure, hon." Left alone, Maureen turned to Elizabeth and narrowed her eyes.

"Well, well. What on earth does a horse owner's daughter from Virginia want with the son of a steel worker, who is, let me do the math, three, nearly four years older than her? Besides the fact that he's legal, obviously."

Elizabeth's suspicions had been right, Maureen was disdainful. But how much, and how badly her words could hurt, Elizabeth had not expected. It seemed as though lately, everything had been too perfect with Henry, and the bubble was waiting to burst. She couldn't seem to form words, so she just sat and looked at Henry's sister blankly.

"Well, if you must know, neither my nor Henry's upbringing has anything to do with it. I deeply respect your brother, and I could not imagine using him, or the age difference, in any way. I care too much about him, and I know you clearly can't see that. He's your little brother, and all you want is to protect him, but trust me when I say that we are both invested in this relationship. I would never do anything to hurt him, please believe that."

"I find your sincerity hard to believe," Maureen retorted. "And I'm sure you and your little freshman brain have decided he's the man of your dreams, at least for now. But when it gets serious, and you realize it's not all fun and games, you'll be bored and drop him like a dress gone out of season. So don't expect me to like you, or believe you have good intentions."

Right after she finished talking, Henry and Tom opened the door, chatting. They smiled as they handed Elizabeth a cup of coffee and Maureen a bottle of water. "Having a bit of girl talk and bonding?" Tom asked, and kissed his wife's forehead. She just glanced across the room, stopping to look at Elizabeth for a brief second.

"Henry, I think we should get going," Elizabeth began, to her boyfriend's protests. "Maureen and John need more sleep, and we wouldn't want to keep them any longer." She gathered her things quickly, saying her goodbyes, and a stunned Henry followed her to the car.

"Elizabeth, what the hell was that about?" he asked as they took their seats.

"Your sister hates me."

"Babe, I'm sure she doesn't. What happened?"

"Well, Henry, when you and Tom, who is very sweet by the way, went to get coffee, she asked me very matter-of-factly what my business was seeing you, as all I was clearly out for was the fact you are legal, and that I'd dump you as soon as it got serious, because I'll be bored. So, to recap, she hates me!"

"Are you sure you're not overreacting? Maureen did just give birth. I'm sure she's just tired" Henry asked, not believing his sister could stoop so low.

"Overreacting? Are you serious?" Elizabeth was livid, and couldn't bare to look at Henry. "Have I ever done that, or are you accusing me of framing your sister? Because that would be low, by anyone's standards."

"Elizabeth, calm down, I'm sure it was just a misunderstanding."

"Oh. My. God. I can't believe you right now. Henry, please drive me to the dorm, I can't deal with you right now."  
Henry did as he was asked and the drive was completely silent, with Elizabeth staring out of the window as Henry was brooding in the driver's seat. When they got to the dorms, Elizabeth got out of the car and slammed the door without so much as a word, and Henry was left to wonder what the hell had just happened.

 _A/N: Trouble in paradise! Stay tuned for the next chapter, and know that your feedback makes me incredibly happy!_


	8. Chapter 8

_A/N: I'm so glad you liked the last chapter, I was definitely channeling Maureen's inner Ellis Grey (same actress, and possibly the same personality) when I wrote that._

Elizabeth ran from Henry's car to her room, livid. She'd expected him to ask for clarification when she told him his sister hated her, but never to dismiss her completely. It was as if the very concept of his sister doing any wrong seemed impossible to him, and it hurt her. She would never make up such a thing, and she was disappointed that the possibility even crossed his mind. If she'd been in the same situation, and God knows her brother could be a jerk, she would have at least listened and considered that he could have acted less than perfect.

She opened her door and plopped down on the bed with a groan. "What's wrong?" Julia asked. She hadn't seen her roommate this upset since Watkins, and was worried something horrible had happened.

"Henry is a jerk. He defends his freaking sister blindly while completely dismissing the fact that she basically told me she hated me. To. My. Face."

Julia was shocked. She would have never expected anything like that from Henry, who'd always stood up for Elizabeth and been the perfect gentleman around, well, everyone. "Okay, back up a bit," Julia tried to clarify. "How did all of this start anyway?"

"We were visiting his sister and her baby, and everything was great, her husband's very nice by the way, and the guys go to grab coffee. Maureen and I are alone with the baby, and she asks me, point blank, what my real motivation is for dating Henry. She seems to think I'm just dating him because he's older and thus legal, and that I'll dump him like 'a dress gone out of season' when I get bored with him." She made air quotes at the last bit, grimacing.

"That's awful!" Julia exclaimed.

"Oh, and what's worse - Henry first dismisses the entire thing completely, and then proceeds to tell me _I'm_ overreacting, not his crazy sister."

"Seriously?"

"Yes," Elizabeth said, sighing. "You know, ever since it was just Will and me, in that God awful mansion in Bethesda, I had sworn off commitment, unless it was on my terms. But with Henry it was different. I let my guard down and look what happened. I never should have been that open with him, and he never could have hurt me that bad. I mean, being judged for your background by a total stranger is one thing, but to have someone you care so much for hurt you, that's horrible."

At this point, Elizabeth had started to cry, tears streaming down her face, and Julia picked up a box of tissues, sitting next to her friend and wiping the tears off of her cheeks.

"And to add to my total stupidity, I Elizabeth Adams, a freshman, for crying out loud, can't imagine not being with him. Cause, I think, and this scares the living hell out of me... that I love him. I've been with him what, two months, and now this? I simultaneously hate his guts and can't stop thinking about him. How pathetic is that?"

"Hey, hey," Julia tried to calm Elizabeth down, "you're not pathetic at all. On the contrary, you were brave enough to open up to Henry in the first place, and now, to admit you feelings to yourself. I definitely think you shouldn't give up on him too easily, but you have to do everything on _your_ terms, and yours only. Give yourself at least the night, or maybe even tomorrow, and then tell him how you feel. Make sure he hears you out, and then let him talk and try to preserve at least a bit of his dignity. I bet he's already been wracking his brain to try to make it right again, don't you worry. It'll do him good to think a little longer."

"Thanks Julia," Elizabeth sniffled. "I never had you pegged for the sound relationship advice kind of gal, but I think you're right. I just want to forget about it for tonight anyway, and get some sleep. I'll decide when to face him later."

"No problem, Liz, I'm sure things will look a lot better tomorrow."

True to Julia's prediction, Henry had been trying to figure out what had gone so horribly wrong since he got home, and had spent the past hour pacing up and down his living room, mentally cursing himself for being such a freaking jerk to Elizabeth. He had dismissed her off hand, and now she was, deservedly, furious. If he was completely honest with himself, he could see Maureen overreacting, and he had no idea why he'd defended his sister blindly.

Wanting to get to the bottom of the situation, Henry called Maureen. "Hi little brother," she said sweetly.

Henry wasn't going to be fooled by her cheerful greeting; he knew his sister well enough to tell when she was hiding something. "Maureen, what did you say to Elizabeth?" he asked, hissing.

"Nothing to worry you with. I'm simply not sure if she and you have the same outlook on your relationship. I just wanted to make it clear to her that fooling around with you until she found the next hot guy with an I.D. wasn't in her or your best interest."

Henry could've exploded right then and there. He knew his sister was abrasive, and took some time to warm up to people, but this? "I swear to God, what the hell were you thinking? Not that I owe you any kind of explanation for our relationship, but Elizabeth and I are very happy, and none of what you just said is in any way true."

"Well, if you say so, then I'll leave you in your happy bubble of delusion, little brother. Anyway, I've got to go, John needs to be fed. Bye!"

"Maureen-" She'd hung up on him at this point, and Henry heard the monotone noise coming from his phone as he placed it back on the receiver. He sighed and rubbed his hand across his forehead, feeling like an ass for not believing Elizabeth. He'd hurt the person who was the most important to him in the world, and had no conceivable plan to fix it. Defeated, he pulled a beer out of his fridge and slumped on his couch, desperate to just forget any of this was happening.

Meanwhile, Elizabeth had gone to sleep with the plan to talk to Henry the next day, after his meeting with Professor Johnson was over. Julia laid awake in her bed, tossing and turning, still furious Henry had hurt her roommate like this. She got up and slipped out into the hallway with their phone, passing the cord through the space under the door. She dialled Henry's number, and waited. After a few rings, she heard a groggy voice mumble, "McCord."

"Henry, this is Julia. Before you say anything, stop. I will speak, and you will listen. I know what you did, and I can't believe it. How could you? Elizabeth hasn't really opened up to anyone but the two of us, and you just crushed the possibility of her opening up to pretty much anyone else, ever. She's mad and frustrated and defeated, and I don't blame her. She will be coming by your place tomorrow after your meeting is over, so you'd better be there. And when she gets there, let her talk. No pulling any 'Henry McCord, quoter of saints and philosophers' crap, just listen. Got it?"

"Got it," was all Henry could manage, stunned by Julia's speech.

"And if you act like a jerk again, know that I have a black belt in Karate. You've been warned." The line went silent, and Henry was even more confused than before. He decided that sleep, while it was probably not going to come, was his best option, and he made his way to the bedroom, ready for a long night.

After a pep talk from Julia, Elizabeth was standing in front of Henry's door the next day, gathering herself. The last thing she wanted was to fall apart in front of him before she could get her point across. She had to tell Henry what was on her mind without dissolving into a puddle of emotions. Elizabeth took a deep breath and knocked. The door opened slowly, and she looked at Henry through the frame. "Hi," he managed. "Come in."

"Hi." She walked into his apartment, and the tension was palpable. He ushered her to the sofa, and she stood next to it, not sitting down.

"Look," she began, eyeing him when he tried to speak. "I have to say some things, and I'd like you to just listen, because otherwise, I'm not sure if I can make that happen." He nodded and she continued.

"What happened yesterday really hurt me, Henry. I know she's your sister, and you want to protect her, but that does not make it all right for you to dismiss me completely. I would never, ever make up an accusation like that, and I thought you knew me well enough to know that. Damn it, Henry, I thought you knew me better than practically anyone else! You know I don't tell people things easily, about my parents and Will, but I thought I could trust you." Her voice wavered, and she held in a sob. She was not going to cry, Elizabeth told herself. She had to get this out.

"You know, this isn't even about what Maureen said. I get that crap all the time, from people like Trent, kids from high school, and I've learned how to deal with it. The problem is that having someone you care so freaking much for hurt you is horrible. And I feel like this is going down the same old road again: I care for someone, share things, and get hurt. How should I know this isn't how it always goes? I've never done this before, Henry, never gotten this far into a relationship, and I'm terrified I'm gonna screw it up even more." At this point, Elizabeth had slumped down on the couch, head in her hands, and couldn't hold in the sobs any longer. Henry sat down next to her, rubbing her back, trying to calm her down. He placed his finger under her chin and pushed it up so she was looking at him with tear-filled eyes.

"Elizabeth, I can't even begin to say how sorry I am, not only for this, but for the Watkins incident, and the party, and every other thing I may have done in between. First of all, I was an asshole yesterday when it came to my sister, and I should've seen it coming. She confirmed everything on the phone today, and I think I won't be calling her for a long, long while. I'm apologizing not only for not believing you, but for the way I dismissed you yesterday, without asking for clarification."

Henry took a deep breath before continuing. "And, just so you know, this is not how this is supposed to go — boyfriends usually shouldn't make it feel like opening up to them is a bad idea. Elizabeth, you have no idea how honoured I am that you did open up to me, and trusted me, even though I did a crap job of keeping your trust. I just wish I had done so many things differently."

Elizabeth stared at Henry for what seemed like ages. He had said all the right things, and she wanted so badly to just forget what happened and move on, but she couldn't. "Henry, thank you for saying all of that. It means so much. And I wish we could just let this slide, but it'll take a bit for me to stop being completely mad at you. But that's okay, I think. Because we both need to learn from this, not forget it, and make sure it doesn't happen again. This, us, is too important, Henry." She leaned over to rest her head on his shoulder, and he wrapped an arm around her, lost for words, unable to respond. He could only wonder what lucky star had led him to Elizabeth, and made her give him a second chance.

Elizabeth, however, was not done with the conversation; she had one more thing to get off her chest. "Henry," she whispered. "Do you know why this whole thing made me so upset? Because we've only known each other for two months now, and I'm already scared as hell of losing this, of losing you. Because somehow my naïve, freshman brain has decided that even though it's way too early to even say this, or think about this…" Elizabeth was lost for words, and she turned to Henry, blushing. "If you can't say this back, it's okay, and nothing will change between us…"

"Elizabeth," Henry asked. "Are you all right?"

"Yeah, Henry. It's just, I think… I think I love you." She looked at him expectantly, unsure of what to say or do. Suddenly, Henry pulled her in for a drugging kiss, winding his fingers through her hair, their tongues demanding entrance to each other's mouths. Coming up for air, Elizabeth could see he was grinning. "Elizabeth Adams, I love you too. God, I've wanted to say that for a while now, and you're just perfect, and I love you."

Now it was Elizabeth's turn to pull Henry in for a kiss, and they fell back on the couch together. Henry began tickling her sides, and she giggled infectiously, trying to squirm out of his reach. He stopped just long enough to scoop up Elizabeth, and carry her to the bedroom. Depositing her on the bed, he moved so he was on top of her, and peppered kisses all over her face and neck. She sighed contentedly, and thanked the lucky stars her day was ending on a completely different note that it began on — in the arms of the man she loved.

 _A/N: This is not done, don't worry! I just couldn't bear for them to fight, and I think that from the beginning, their relationship would have been based on communication, and a mutual agreement that they were stronger than a fight. So I let Elizabeth communicate, and all of this poured out of her:)_


	9. Chapter 9

_A/N: Two things: a) so, so sorry for keeping you all waiting! b) I hope I did Elizabeth's situation and her loss justice, as I cannot write from any personal experience. All I can hope to do is honour her parents to the best of my ability._

* * *

Henry woke up on Sunday to the sound of Elizabeth snoring lightly. He couldn't help but chuckle at this, finding it endearing that such a sound could come from his girlfriend. Unbeknownst to him, Elizabeth had already woken up and heard him laughing, and was just waiting for the perfect opportunity to inform him of that fact.

She snaked her hand over to his chest, and when he pulled her closer, began to tickle him all over, as Henry gasped for air, laughing. She stilled her movements for a second, allowing him to catch his breath, and he rolled them over so he was on top of her. He proceeded to get revenge for her ambush, tickling her sides until she was struggling to catch her breath, whereupon he kissed her forehead. "Morning, Elizabeth."

"Morning to you too. Why were you laughing?" she asked, eyeing him.

"Well," Henry answered, unsure of how to bring this up. "You snore, just a little. Well, more like a lot. But it's adorable, honestly," he added when he saw the look she was giving him.

"I do not!" Elizabeth protested, picking up the pillow from next to her and smacking Henry over the head with it. "If anything, you're a blanket hog, mister, and right now, it's too cold for that." She turned her head away from him, pouting.

"Love you too, babe." Henry said, chuckling, still adjusting to the novelty of being able to say that to Elizabeth, but loving the sound of it nonetheless.

"Hmpf," Elizabeth replied, still feigning indignation, but really she was giddy at the sound of Henry telling her he loved her. She had been so sure yesterday that their fight would go on for a few more days at least, but now she was waking next to the man she loved (even though she was still a bit mad about what had happened). "You're still a blanket hog, but I love you, Henry."

Henry dipped his head down and kissed Elizabeth, his tongue darting into her mouth as she arched up to his body, trying to increase their contact. Soon, they both laid in a tangle of sheets in Henry's bed, utterly content in each others arms.

…

Wednesday afternoon, Henry knew Elizabeth had no afternoon classes, and he found himself with a rare night off himself. He headed to her dorm with the idea that they could check out the new exhibit at the gallery across campus, and maybe grab a bite to eat later. Henry hadn't seen Elizabeth since Sunday, and was looking forward to a few free hours with her. He knocked on her door and waited for an answer, hoping she was in or someone close by could tell him where to find her. When all Henry heard was a faint "It's unlocked," he pushed the door open.

Elizabeth was sitting on her bed crosslegged, and she clearly looked like she'd been crying. Henry was immediately at her side, and placed his hand on her leg, rubbing circles on it. "Babe, are you all right?" he asked, concern clearly written on his face.

"I'm fine, really," she answered, sniffling, "I just don't feel like going anywhere today, so if you had any plans, I'm sorry, I…"

"Elizabeth, please tell me what happened. Let me make it better." Henry kept prodding, wanting desperately to know why she was so upset, wanting to comfort her in any way he could.

"You can't Henry, no one can. It's been seven years. And this is the first time I'm all alone for it, because Will is just started med school in freaking Boston, and I've tried to call, but he's probably in surgery right now, so he's busy saving lives." At this point, Elizabeth had started to cry again, and he pulled her close, wrapping his arms around her shoulders and letting her sink into his embrace.

"You're not alone, babe. I'm right here. What's been seven years?"

"It's been seven years since my parents died," she answered, her voice barely above a whisper, and Henry's heart broke for her. He couldn't imagine ever losing his parents, and to have that happen at such a young age was horrible. At the beginning, Elizabeth had told Henry she lost his parents when she was twelve, but never given him any details, and he hadn't prodded further, not wanting to delve into painful memories. So now, with her in his embrace on the worst day of the year for her, all he could do was pull her close and kiss the top of her head.

"I'm so incredibly sorry for your loss Elizabeth, and I wish I could do something, anything to help you feel better. I know I'll never be able to fully comprehend what you've been through, but please know that I'm here for you, to listen, or just to _be_ here, whatever you need babe."

"Thank you," she said, and wiped a tear off her cheek. She looked at Henry and smiled weakly. "My dad would've loved you, you know that? He was a history professor at UVA, and he loved debunking all these crazy conspiracy theories people had about presidential and US history. He'd really get a kick out of scouring the archives and coming home with all these facts no one knew about the presidents, that made them a bit more human. Like, did you know John Quincy Adams went skinny-dipping in the Potomac every morning?"

"Seriously?" Henry asked, amused. "He sounds amazing, Elizabeth, I'd have been honoured to meet him."

"You know, whenever I was insecure or scared when I was little, he'd say: 'Bess, you are the descendant of some of the greatest heroes and scoundrels that the Commonwealth of Virginia has ever seen. If you've got one thing running through your veins, it's guts.' I remember being so proud of that, and when I was six, telling a boy in my class who tried to pull my hair the same thing, standing as tall as I could when I did. I think I might have scarred his pre-pubescent self for life."

Elizabeth chuckled at the memory, and Henry kissed her cheek. "Babe, I think you'd have intimidated me with that one even today. No wonder he knew you'd be a superhero on horseback someday."

"You remembered! Well, he was always the quirky one, my mom was much calmer. She'd act like my dad's scatterbrain annoyed her but I think deep down, she really loved him for it. The horses were hers actually, from my granddad, and she told us the story of the fist time she brought my dad out to meet them. He was terrified, she said, but wanted to impress her nonetheless. So he ventured out into the pasture with a halter and lead rope, trying to find a horse, and ended up slipping and falling face forward into a pile of horse crap. My mom said she laughed so hard she had tears in her eyes, but she knew then and there that he was a keeper."

She went quiet after that, and sighed loudly as she buried her head in the crook of his neck. "Elizabeth, what do you want to do now?" Henry didn't want to push her, but tired to give her all the options she needed to get through today.

"I think I want to call Will again," she said, and got up, walking toward the phone and placing it on her bed as she started to dial a number. Henry took this as his cue to leave, but she pulled him back on the bed by his arm and whispered, "Stay, please."

He nodded and leaned back against the wall as she waited for the call to go through. Miraculously, Will actually picked up. "Adams."

"Will, hi. I'm, I'm glad you picked up, I've been trying to call all day, but, of course you know why…"

"Lizzie, hey. How are you holding up?"

"Well enough, Henry's here with me… How about you?"

"Well, I've got classes all day and I'm observing a bunch of surgeries, so I'm keeping busy. How's Henry?"

"He's great, yeah, great. It's the first year neither of us is close enough to drive to the farm, you know. I hope they're not mad, which is irrational, because it's been seven years, but I hope they know we're thinking about them."

"I'm sure they do, Lizzie."

"Promise?" Henry had never heard Elizabeth this needy, or insecure, and it pained him. He pulled her close and let her rest her head on his shoulder as she continued the conversation.

"I promise. Look, I have to go. Love you, little sis. Keep your head high, you're an Adams, after all. And say hi to Henry."

"Bye Will, love you too." As she hung up the phone, Elizabeth couldn't help but sigh, out of pain, and a bit of relief too, knowing she had someone who understood, even though he wasn't the best at expressing his emotions. But he was her brother, her only real family, and she loved him no matter what. She turned to Henry, and said: "Will says hi, by the way."

They spent the rest of the evening in Elizabeth's dorm — alone, as Julia was visiting her mom in Maine. They ordered pizza, and watched some silly TV show, and Elizabeth told him stories of her childhood, and her parents, and how she missed them so, so much. He learned that she and Will still technically owned the horse farm, and all the horses, but that the old stable manager would live there until either of them wanted to. Their parents were buried close by, in a local cemetery, and it was a yearly tradition for the Adams siblings to visit their grave. This year, neither of them were close enough to make it happen, and Henry could tell Elizabeth felt incredibly guilty about it, and wished there was something he could do to help.

She must have sensed his thoughts, because Elizabeth turned to him at one point and said, "Henry, you have no idea how much it means to me that you're _here_ , with me. I love you so much." She kissed him, and let out a contented sigh.

"I love you too, babe. There's nowhere else I'd rather be right now."

* * *

 _A/N: I hope you liked it! Anyway, I really want Henry to meet Will soon, since they seemed to be really friendly on the show. So be on the lookout for that in the upcoming chapters._


	10. Chapter 10

_A/N: We've hit ten chapters! That's craziness, thank you all for sticking with me for this wild ride. Also, the last episode gave us some much needed backstory, so this story has been adjusted accordingly (don't worry, I counted and over the span of nine chapters I changed about 15 words). Anyway, feel free to assume now that everything is taking place at UVA._

* * *

Spring had officially sprung on the grounds of UVA, and there were telltale signs that everyone was just a bit more happy and cheerful since the season had rolled around. Henry and Elizabeth couldn't have been happier themselves, and had slipped into a comfortable routine as a couple. They spent most weekends together, or went out with friends, and had adjusted well to balancing a relationship with classes and friends.

They were using the warm weather as the perfect opportunity to take their books out onto the Lawn in front of the Rotunda, finding a quiet spot to study and bask in the sun. Elizabeth was laying with her head on Henry's stomach as he read some dusty old manuscript she'd been teasing him about for the past few days. Though she herself was supposed to be studying for a Constitutional Law exam later that week, she found herself dozing off, comfortable in the warmth and steadfast presence of Henry. He, of course, had noticed Elizabeth falling asleep, and couldn't help but smile at how adorable she looked, and utterly content. He was toying with the idea of waking her, but decided against it and instead opted to join her in a nap, placing his reading next to him and settling himself on the grass.

They dozed for a good twenty minutes, until Elizabeth felt a presence above her. With her eyes still closed, she tried to assess the situation. Henry was asleep, his chest rising and falling in a steady rhythm. They were definitely not alone, as the Lawn was packed this time of year, so she figured it must just be a friend passing by. She opened her eyes slowly, and jumped up when she recognized who was standing above her.

"Will!" she cried, flinging herself into his arms. "What the hell are you doing here?" He spun her around in a circle before planting her feet firmly back on the ground.

"Woah there Lizzie, I was in the area and decided to stop by. How's my favourite sister?"

"Now that you're here?" she teased, smacking him playfully for the "favourite sister" joke, before giving him another hug. At this point, Henry had woken up to the commotion, and saw his girlfriend in the arms of another man. Still a bit incoherent from his nap, he leapt to his feet, and pulled Elizabeth back protectively. When she shot him a completely perplexed look, he scanned the situation, unsure of what he was missing.

"And you must be Henry," the stranger remarked, smiling, reaching his hand out in greeting. Henry shook it, still livid he had the audacity to introduce himself without a shadow of guilt. Elizabeth noticed Henry's iciness, and wondered what on earth was bringing it on.

"Henry, what's the matter?" she asked, "It's just Will."

Henry could have kicked himself. It was her brother, for crying out loud! Not some strange guy flirting with his girlfriend! He genuinely shook Will's hand this time, smiling. "Henry McCord, nice to meet you. Elizabeth has told me so much about you."

"Will, seriously though, why are you here?" Elizabeth asked again, surprised he wasn't in Boston and had dropped by without so much as a phone call.

"Well, your genius brother just happened to be chosen to attend a very boring lecture session at UVA, and decided to surprise you."

"How long are you staying?"

"'Till the end of the week, and the university has me checked into a spare dorm, so no, Lizzie, you do not have to worry about where I'll spend my nights." Elizabeth blushed. Will knew her too well, that she was always worrying about him. Although he was older, she'd made it her job to look out for him ever since their parents died, and he sometimes wished she hadn't placed such a heavy burden on herself. "But I am in the mood for some coffee. Care to join me?" he asked his sister.

"Of course. Let me just get my stuff together, and we'll go."

Henry took this as his cue to leave, wanting to let Elizabeth and Will catch up in private. He leant over to his girlfriend and kissed her cheek. "Babe, I'll get going then, and give you guys some space."

"Nonsense, Henry," Will interjected, "I have to get to know the guy who has so obviously stolen my sister's heart." Henry and Elizabeth both blushed at this, and Will laughed. "You guys are adorable. No, seriously, all exaggeration aside, come with us!"

Henry acquiesced, smiling, and the three of them made their way to Henry and Elizabeth's favourite coffee shop, the one they'd gone to when they first met.

After they had sunken down into an armchair and couch, ordered and taken a sip of their drinks, Will looked up at the couple, smiling. "So, tell me, how exactly did you manage to commit my sister to a relationship?"

"Will!" Elizabeth protested, laughing. "Henry was ever the gentleman." She recounted their first meeting for her brother, smiling at the memory. She clasped Henry's hand in hers while she was speaking, and his thumb traced lazy circles on her palm. "We've been together ever since," Elizabeth said, finishing the story.

Will leant back, content. Henry had just passed any possible test he could have given, not that he'd let either of them know that. It wasn't even the story of how they first met that had convinced Will that Henry really was right for his sister, it was the little things. The way he held her hand, the way he knew exactly where she was in the room, and always sought out her presence, how he let her speak without interruption, and how he'd tried to protect her from him, the supposed stranger, earlier (Will had indeed caught on). He also saw how his sister acted in Henry's presence, gravitating toward him, but not needy or desperate. He saw how they both poked fun at one another, and looked at one another with the most adoring glances, much like an old married couple. Truthfully, much like his parents had looked at one another before they died.

The three of them slipped into easy conversation, laughing and joking, telling stories from the Adams siblings' childhoods. Henry was happy Elizabeth had a brother like Will, even if he wasn't around all the time — but when he was, he could tell Will tried to make sure she knew how much he did care. After a little while, Henry suggested they walk back, and let Elizabeth show Will her dorm, and classes, and that they'd meet at Henry's and then head out for dinner that night.

…

Elizabeth and Will were walking across the grounds, toward her dorm, when he stopped her. "Remember coming here with dad, to walk across the grounds and go sit in his office while he taught, distracting ourselves by drawing on his chalkboard?"

"And when we snuck into his lecture one time and you couldn't keep quiet and he found us in the back row of the lecture hall, giggling?"

"And all of his students thought we were the cutest thing, so he couldn't even get mad?"

"Yeah, I remember Will." He pulled her to his side then, wrapping an arm around her shoulder as they continued their walk.

"The Adams Wahoo tradition lives on, Lizzie. I'm happy you're here, really."

"I'm happy too." The Adams siblings meandered down the path, pausing to recall their childhood partially spent on these very grounds. Now, Elizabeth was calling them home once again, and she was able to show Will places that she'd discovered herself, that were special to her.

After a little while, he turned to her again and asked: "And you're really happy with Henry?"

Elizabeth's face lit up at the mention of his name. "I'm really happy with Henry, I love him, Will. And he loves me too."

Will believed her, he'd seen firsthand how his sister acted with Henry, and was so glad she'd found someone she could open up too. He knew he hadn't been able to always be there for Elizabeth, something he still regretted, and breathed a sigh of relief that she had Henry now — not that he couldn't still improve on that front. Ever since their parents died, Will had coped in his own way, throwing himself into school and crazy, reckless things outside of it (paragliding, rock climbing, mountain biking, to name a few) just so he could feel something again, to be rid of the numbness that came with thinking of their passing. He knew his way of coping only made Elizabeth worry more about him, so he headed far away from Houghton Hall and Charlottesville after high school, hoping the distance would make it easier for both of them. Honestly, he wasn't sure if it did.

…

Later, Elizabeth and Will had made it to the edge of the grounds, and she pointed across the street to the building Henry lived in. "We're here." They walked up to his apartment building and waited for Henry to come outside. When he did, Will looked over to his sister and her boyfriend and asked "So, any dinner ideas?"

"How about we go to that French place you took me to on our first 'real' date?" Elizabeth suggested. Henry smiled at the memory and nodded his head in agreement. The party of three made its way to the restaurant in easy discussion. Henry and Elizabeth walked next to one another, holding hands, and Elizabeth leant her head on Henry's shoulder every once in a while, savouring his presence.

They got to the restaurant, sat down and ordered, whereupon Elizabeth excused herself to go to the bathroom. Will and Henry were left alone at the table, an awkward silence hanging above them. Henry broke it, clearing his throat and turning to Will. "Listen, I hope I haven't interfered in any time you wanted to spend alone with Elizabeth — I know you two haven't seen each other in a while and I wouldn't want to intrude upon that."

"Not at all, I'm glad I finally get to meet the guy Lizzie's been talking about nonstop for the past two and a half months. She's been happier with you than anyone else, you know, since everything happened."

Henry gripped his glass tighter at this, and looked Will straight in the eyes. "I've been incredibly happy too," he said sincerely.

"Hey, I've been meaning to ask — you never call Lizzie anything but Elizabeth, what's up with that?" Will asked, trying to lighten the mood. "She's always had nicknames, her best friends called her Lizzie, some called her Liz, and all the grownups call her Bess. So what's your deal?"

Henry was stumped, he'd always called her Elizabeth out of habit and intuition, if he was honest. "You know, Elizabeth just always felt natural, so it stuck. It's a beautiful name in and of itself, and always abbreviated, so…" he paused, thinking. "I didn't know people called her Bess though, that one's new. But I have a great aunt named Bess, and sheesh, that woman's creepy. I could never think of Elizabeth like that."

Henry broke into laughter at the memory of the woman. "You know, she always had these sugar free chocolate things she'd give us when we got to her house, and honestly, I can still taste them just thinking about it — they were stale and godawful! And she would be so offended if we didn't take at least three!" Will joined in the laughter now too, and Elizabeth chose exactly that moment to rejoin the table.

"What are you two laughing about?" she asked, intrigued.

"Nothing, babe, Will and I were just talking."

"Aha, sounds fascinating." The food arrived then, and everyone dug in and commented on how good it was.

"Henry, we have to try to make this at your place sometime," Elizabeth said, referring to her coq au vin.

"You mean, I'll make it and you'll watch?" Henry teased, fully aware of Elizabeth's total incompetence in the kitchen. She shot him a look, and Will couldn't help but notice.

"So Henry, I see you've become privy to Lizzie's cooking skills?" Now Will was the one getting the look, but he just laughed and continued. "You know, I remember when she was in high school, she tried to make pasta and sauce in the dorm kitchen, set off the fire alarm, and we had to evacuate the entire building! It still baffles me that she screwed that one up!"

"Hey, in my defence, that stove was finicky!" Elizabeth started, but was quickly shut out by everyone's laughter. Laughter continued throughout the dinner, and they were thoroughly enjoying themselves. After dinner, it was decided that they'd head to Henry's apartment, since it was so close, and have a drink. Having paid, Will, Henry and Elizabeth made their way out into the cool Charlottesville spring air.

* * *

 _A/N: Yep, I left you hanging! :) #sorrynotsorry In all seriousness, thanks so much for your continued support! I know I said we'd only see Will in the next few chapters, but then he showed up early and surprised us! Yay!_


	11. Chapter 11

_A/N: That episode nearly killed me — I thought episode 13 was the tear-jerker, but boy, was I wrong! If anything happens to Henry… Gahh! So I've retreated into my happy college bubble; part 2 of Will's visit to follow. Enjoy, and as always, thank you so much for your continued feedback and support — it means so much!_

* * *

They entered Henry's apartment building a short walk later, and headed up to his studio. Henry took Will and Elizabeth's coats, and motioned for them to sit down while he grabbed everyone something to drink. Settled down on the sofa, Elizabeth was looking at Will, who'd taken a seat on the armchair next to it. She tried to read her brother, and figure out how he _really_ felt about Henry, knowing he'd been sceptical about her boyfriends in the past. As hard as she tried, she just couldn't make sense of his body language, and he smiled at her, a knowing look in his eyes.

Henry appeared with drinks just then, and found a seat on the sofa next to Elizabeth, wrapping an arm around her shoulders. "So, Will, do you have any plans for the rest of the time you're here?" he asked.

"Well, I'm gonna be in lectures for most of the day, and the med school wants me to meet with some of the students for dinners and 'social events,'" he responded, clearly not looking forward to his schedule for the next few days. Henry empathized, the college had sent him to a similar lecture series the previous semester, albeit about theology but tedious nonetheless.

"I seriously hope your lectures aren't as bad as when they sent me to Notre Dame in November. Father O'Brian speaking on 'Biblical Criticism and the Decline of America's Biblical Civilization' was probably the single most boring thing I've ever listened to. The guy was a. ancient, and b. mumbled so badly that you could hardly hear a word he was saying — not that it'd have been interesting anyway."

"And here I thought biblical lectures were your lifeblood and fed your endlessly quoting soul?" Elizabeth quipped.

"Oh, good one!" Will remarked, laughing.

Henry shot his girlfriend a look. "You did not just go there!" He tried to keep a straight face, and stay mad, but she was looking at him all innocent and doe-eyed and he gave in to the joke. "Or should I tell Will about that one time in the coffee shop where you asked me…"

"Don't you dare, Henry McCord, or I swear…"

"What did she ask you, Henry?" Will asked, his interest piqued.

"Just how the NHL players in places like California were able to…" Elizabeth covered Henry's mouth with her hand to stop him from continuing the story, but to no avail. "… practice, because it never got cold enough for ice down there," Henry choked out between laughs. Elizabeth turned bright red at this, but soon joined in the laughter with him and Will, and the three continued the evening in good company, talking until someone realized they all had classes the next morning. After saying their goodbyes, Will and Elizabeth made their way back to their respective dorms, leaving Henry in his apartment.

…

On their way across the grounds, Will turned to his sister. "Listen, Lizzie, I know I'm not one for romance, and all that, but Henry's a keeper. I'm happy you found each other. Just make sure he knows you're one too." He placed an arm on her shoulder, and Elizabeth smiled up at him, sighing.

"Mom and dad would be proud, Will, that was very adult of you. Thank you." He kissed the top of her head, and they walked on in silence, the sound of crickets filling the air on the starry spring night.

…

Will and Elizabeth saw each other a few more times that week, when Will finally had some free time in his schedule. Henry joined them again on Saturday night for dinner, and afterward they accompanied Will to the cab that would take him to the airport.

"Bye Lizzie, I'll see you soon," Will said, pulling Elizabeth in for a hug.

"Bye Will, have a good flight."

Will shook hands with Henry, and stepped inside the cab. Elizabeth and Henry watched it drive down the street, waving, before the car turned a corner and vanished out of their sight. Elizabeth sighed and Henry wrapped his arm around her shoulder as they walked back toward the grounds and Henry's apartment.

When Henry unlocked the door and stepped inside, Elizabeth was quick to follow. She immediately wrapped her arms around him and crashed her lips to his. Henry was too stunned to react at first, but quickly caught his bearings, encircling her hips with his arms and pulling her close. Breathless, the both came up for air, and Henry couldn't help but ask "What was that all about, babe?"

"Well, I couldn't have conceivably done that with my brother around, and I missed kissing you this week." Henry's response was almost immediate, and he kissed her fiercely. They stumbled toward his bedroom, clumsily shedding clothes along the way, until they met on the bed and their bodies joined once again. Henry was always surprised at how new and exciting sex with Elizabeth felt, no matter how many times they were together. She was adventurous and playful, and made her wants known, which only served to turn him on more.

After, they laid in a tangle of sheets, sated and spent. Elizabeth's head was resting on Henry's chest, and they were comfortable in the silence, until she broke it and spoke.

"I'm glad you and Will got along — he's not usually this friendly to guys I go out with."

"Maybe that's proof of just how much of a catch I am," Henry joked.

"Idiot."

"But an idiot that was smart enough to ask you out, babe. I love you."

"I love you too."

"No, seriously, I really like your brother too. You're lucky to have each other, believe me."

"I know." She smiled, before unwrapping herself from Henry's embrace, eliciting a look of confusion from her boyfriend. She pulled on a pair of Henry's pyjama pants and his ROTC sweatshirt — the ones he always leant her when she stayed over. "Do you have any ice cream?"

Henry laughed at her steadfast predictability — in the months he had known Elizabeth Adams, she'd continually surprised him with her appetite and love of ice cream and popcorn, at all hours of the day. "Of course. Go ahead, I'm right behind you." He pulled on his own sweats and t-shirt now, and followed her into the kitchen, where she'd taken a seat at the table with a container of ice cream and two spoons. Henry sat down next to her, as she took a bite of ice cream, sighing as she swallowed a spoonful of chocolate.

"That's good."

He kissed her then, and tasted the chocolate on her lips. "Hmm, it really is."

"That's good too."

He chuckled, and they continued to eat their ice cream, their feet occasionally brushing against each other. The lamp hanging above Henry's table illuminated the room, casting a soft shadow on Elizabeth's delicate features. The dim light made her golden locks glow. Henry was staring at her, mesmerized by her beauty, when she noticed and poked his side.

"Earth to Henry!" When she ripped him out of his thoughts, he looked at her, perplexed, and she laughed, dipping her finger into the half-melted ice cream. She reached over, and smeared some on his nose, giggling. "You've got something, right there," she choked out, pointing to Henry.

"Elizabeth Adams, you are trouble," he responded, with a gleam in his eyes, and retaliated with ice cream to her nose, which he promptly kissed off. "You do too." He started tickling her then, and she wriggled out of his grip, taking cover behind the dividing wall that separated his kitchen from the living room. He got up and followed, and soon it was an all-out tickle war, leaving them collapsed on the couch, heaving with laughter.

"Crap, the ice cream!" she remembered, and scampered over to the kitchen to put it back in the freezer before it melted completely. On her way back she noticed the calendar that hung on Henry's wall — a gift from his eight year old cousin (he'd told her at the very beginning when she'd noticed and asked). It was only then though, that she saw the sloppily painted balloons and present on the square for that day. It dawned on her quickly — it was Henry's birthday today, and he'd never said anything. Or he had, she thought, and she'd forgotten — which would be infinitely worse. She mentally went through the past three months she'd spent with Henry, and came to the conclusion that he'd really never told her, though she had no idea why.

She headed back to the sofa, determined to get to the bottom of this. Standing squarely in front of him, she made Henry look up with confusion. "Henry Patrick McCord, how come you've neglected to let your _girlfriend_ know it's your birthday? It's your birthday, for crying out loud!"

Crap, he thought to himself. If he was honest, he'd always hated the attention that came with birthdays, especially in a big household where everyone lived close by. When he'd been younger, his mother had thrown him the typical parties — pirates, superheroes, etc. but he'd never felt comfortable with all eyes on him. As he'd gotten older, he'd had smaller celebrations every year, usually just dinner with his family. Now that he was in college, though, he'd stopped celebrating all together.

"I don't like to make a big deal out of it," he deflected. "It's honestly not that important…"

"But you're important to _me_ , Henry," Elizabeth countered. "So I'm gonna wish you a 'Happy birthday.'" She leant down to kiss him, and he happily obliged, pulling her closer so she was sitting half on his lap and half on the sofa. "Happy birthday," she repeated between kisses, nuzzling their noses together.

"Mmm, thank you."

"And I won't make a big deal out of it, if you don't want me to. But know that I know, and I care, and I love you."

"I like you okay too," he joked, kissing her cheek, and she feigned indignation.

"You know, I had a plan to celebrate over there," she looked over to the bedroom, a coy expression on her face "but since you clearly don't…" She didn't get to the end of her sentence, when he picked up her slight frame and carried her to the bedroom, grinning. She squealed, and he laughed.

"Babe, you're perfect, and I love you."

They were curled up in Henry's tangled sheets for the second time that night, and he wrapped his arms around Elizabeth, pulling her close. "That was amazing, thank you. And thank you for wishing me a happy birthday."

"Birthdays are special, Henry, no matter how small your celebration is. And that's okay. I think the most important thing is to know someone else knows you're there, and special, and loved."

He kissed her again, and as she was falling asleep, whispered "You know you're in love when you can't fall asleep because reality is finally better than your dreams."

"That was Dr. Seuss," she mumbled back, a smile on her face, as her eyes closed and she drifted off into sleep.

* * *

 _A/N: Side note: Tim and his cryptic tweets, gahh! Why?! Though I'm 98% sure he'll stick around and secretly knows we're all freaking out right now. :)_


	12. Chapter 12

_A/N: "Hello, it's me. I've been wondering if after all these years you'd like to meet…" No seriously, it's been ages and I'm sorry. Life and writer's block kinda got in my way, hence no updates. But I have a bunch more ideas for future chapters (thanks for your help lil'mousie323) so it's full steam ahead! Enjoy!_

* * *

Elizabeth Adams had a half hour before her last lecture was over and she could head over to Henry's apartment. It was a Friday afternoon and the UVA students were looking forward to a long weekend. Elizabeth had been excited since Monday when she'd told Henry she wanted to take him somewhere special. They hadn't seen each other since, and she could hardly sit still thinking of how this weekend would play out. She was a bundle of nerves, and had to remind herself it was Henry she was taking, whom she loved and trusted more than anyone. Finally, the professor dismissed the lecture, and she walked out into the warm spring afternoon. After picking up her bag from her dorm, Elizabeth made her way to Henry's. She knocked on the door, and held her breath as she waited for him to open it.

Henry's door swung open a moment later, and he stepped out, a grin on his face. "Hi gorgeous," he said, kissing Elizabeth. She smiled back at him, and reached out for his hand.

"Hi. Are you ready to go?"

"All packed, as per your instructions. Though I have no idea where we're going."

"You'll know soon enough," she replied, and pulled him down the hallway to his car.

"Babe, are you okay? You seem nervous. Is something wrong?" Henry had never seen Elizabeth this anxious, and he wondered what was making her so skittish.

"I'm fine — just excited. Come on, let's go!"

…

After a good half hour of driving, Elizabeth instructed Henry to turn into a long, windy road. They were in the middle of rural Virginia, surrounded by old trees, lush green pastures and white fences. Henry was beginning to figure out where they were headed. They had to be close, because Elizabeth was getting increasingly anxious, so he reached his free hand over to grab hers, and trace lazy circles on her palm, hoping to calm her down. They were nearing the end of the road, and a beautiful white house came into view. It was surrounded by the same pastures they had been driving by, dotted with a herd of horses in the distance. Elizabeth was bringing him home, Henry realized, and smiled at the thought. She was letting him into her life completely, and he fell in love with her all over again for it.

As he pulled up to the barn and stopped the car, he turned to look at his girlfriend. She was grinning, taking it all in. It had been over a year since she'd been back home, and she'd been flooded with memories ever since they pulled up to the property. She pushed the car door open, and waited for Henry to do the same, clearly impatient. When he pulled the key from the ignition and got out himself, she stepped toward him and grabbed his hand.

"We're here," she breathed. He kissed her cheek and no words were needed; he knew how much this moment meant to her. "This is where I grew up."

"It's beautiful. It must have been an amazing place to spend a childhood."

"It was," she replied. "I'm glad you're here with me."

Before he had a chance to respond, the barn door opened before them and an older man walked out. He had to have been in his fifties and was wearing dusty jeans and a flannel shirt. Elizabeth recognized him immediately, and let go of Henry's hand to run toward him. "Frank!" she called, and threw herself into his arms, as he pulled her in tight for a hug.

Frank let go a moment later, and pushed her out to arm's length so he could look her up and down. "Now look what the cat dragged in. Well, if it isn't Bess Adams. You've gotten even more beautiful since the last time I saw you. College has to be treating you well."

Elizabeth blushed. "I've missed you and the horses, Frank. I really have."

Frank turned his attention to Henry, who was still waiting by the car, wanting to give them their privacy. "And who might this be?" He waved Henry over, and looked at Elizabeth conspiratorially. "He's handsome, that's for sure." Elizabeth blushed again, and Henry walked over to them. Frank shook his hand and smiled. "Frank O'Neill, pleased to meet you."

"Henry McCord."

"I'm the stable manager round here, and I understand you're the one that's stolen Bess's heart?"

Now it was Henry's turn to blush, and Elizabeth just laughed. Frank had always been family to her, even more so after her parents died, and never having had children of his own, he was always fiercely protective of her and Will. That extended to boyfriends and girlfriends of course.

Always one for a joke, Frank turned to Henry and asked: "So Henry, I'm assuming you'll help with the mucking and feeding this weekend? I've got Adagio all lined up for you to ride, he's a little headstrong, but an excellent jumper. What do you say?" The flabbergasted look Henry gave him was priceless. The closest he'd ever come to a horse in Pittsburgh was pony rides at the fair when he was six. He had absolutely no idea how to muck a stall, let alone handle a giant animal. Frank and Elizabeth both burst out laughing, and he looked back and forth between them to try to understand what was happening. "I'm kidding, son. I know full well you're a city kid, don't you worry. Elizabeth will show you around and tell you what to do. You'll get the hang of it." Henry breathed a sigh of relief as Elizabeth grabbed his hand.

"Here, let me introduce you to the horses. We'll meet you later for dinner Frank, is that okay?"

"Of course, Bess. Make sure not to spook him too much." Frank winked and headed off toward the adjacent building, leaving Henry and Elizabeth at the barn door.

"Come on, Henry. I want you to meet everyone." She pulled him into the barn, the familiar scent of horse and hay filling her nostrils. She inhaled and immediately felt at home, listening to the soft nickering and whinnying filling the air. Rounding the corner, they stood in the aisle of the barn, stalls on either side. Ten doors proudly displayed names of horses, and those currently inside poked their heads out of the doors, curious to see who the visitors were. Elizabeth gravitated toward the horses, greeting each one like an old friend she hadn't seen in years while Henry stood apprehensively in the corner. She eventually came back to him and took his hand again. "It's okay, they won't bite," she laughed. "Well, I can't make any guarantees for Harley over there, but the rest of them are sweet as can be. C'mere."

She led him over to the last stall door in the far corner of the barn, where a beautiful black Thoroughbred with a white star on his forehead looked outside and turned his head toward Elizabeth, neighing. "Meet Starduster. He's my horse, and one of the two most important guys in my life." She grinned, and giggled when Henry backed away as Starduster's head crept closer. "Relax, he likes you. Hold out your hand like this," she held Henry's hand out flat so the horse could smell him and moved it toward the door, "and don't be nervous. He's the sweetest one of the bunch." Henry slowly felt himself relaxing as Starduster's warm breath passed over his hand and his soft mouth moved to his palm. Elizabeth kept holding his hand, helping him to stroke his muzzle.

"He's beautiful," Henry said, in awe of the enormous animal, and his gentle nature. He was equally impressed with Elizabeth and how comfortable she was around the horses. They stood by Starduster's stall for what seemed like ages, and Henry was feeling more and more comfortable as the minutes passed. Eventually, he even let Elizabeth help him give the horse a carrot, and laughed as Starduster's whiskers tickled his hand when he took the treat.

…

They headed back to the main house for dinner later, joined by Frank who lived in his own cottage close to the barn. The house was bright and airy, exactly how Henry imagined, and he could picture Elizabeth and Will running up and down the halls as children, boots muddy from riding or playing outside. He smiled as he thought of how it must've been to grow up here, in Elizabeth's own little bit of paradise. When his mind drifted and he suddenly saw himself in this same house, with children of his own, waiting for Elizabeth to come back from riding. He had to stop himself from thinking any further. Too soon, he thought.

After dinner, Frank went to feed the horses, and Elizabeth and Henry were left alone in the house. "Let me show you around," Elizabeth said, taking his hand and leading him through the main floor. Every so often, she'd share funny little stories, smiling as she remembered all the happy memories the house had brought. "See this painting?" she said, pointing to a large canvas filled with a meadow and flowers. "Will was twelve and had just started playing baseball. He wasn't very good at it, and ended up quitting pretty fast. But he was practising pitching outside one day, and the ball went through an open window. It didn't hit anyone, thank God, but it left a pretty big hole in the wall, right under here. He was so scared he'd get into trouble that he found an old painting in the basement and hung it over the hole. When my mom asked him about it later, he said, 'I decided to do some redecorating.' She didn't believe him for a second, and took the painting down to find the damage. She tried to be mad, but couldn't stop laughing, so Will was off the hook for a little bit, until he broke a barn window the next time he went outside to practise."

"I take it an MLB career was not in his future?" Henry joked, and Elizabeth laughed, pulling him to the foyer so they could get their bags before they headed upstairs. The wall by the staircase was covered in photos of the Adams family, from baby pictures of Elizabeth and Will to wedding pictures of their parents. He smiled at how happy they all looked, but couldn't shake the feeling of sadness at the thought that she would never be able to take a picture with them again.

When they reached the end of the staircase, Elizabeth showed him her bedroom. It was light and airy, perfect for a little girl to grow up in. She had bunkbeds — for sleepovers, as she explained — and a window seat overlooking the pastures where she used to read. Elizabeth went looking for linens then, and Henry walked over to her bookshelf, scanning the titles and smiling as he recognized many of the books Maureen and Erin used to read. She came back a few minutes later with a frown on her face, holding a stack of sheets. "Crap."

"What's wrong, babe?" Henry asked, a concerned look on his face.

"The guest bedroom is completely full of boxes, and those," she glanced at the beds with disdain, "are bunkbeds. I could've sworn we cleaned out the junk a few years ago."

"We'll make it work," Henry said, pulling her in for a hug. "It'll be like summer camp."

"I doubt those cabins were ever co-ed."

"There's a first time for everything."

She smiled then, and leant forward to kiss him, hard. "I call top bunk," she whispered, and ducked out of his embrace to climb up the ladder with half the sheets, leaving Henry standing in the middle of the room with a flabbergasted look on his face.

"Elizabeth Adams, you are trouble," he retorted once he'd gathered himself.

She laughed as they made the beds, continuing to poke fun at one another. They changed into their pyjamas, heading to the bathroom to brush their teeth. Soon, they were lying in the bunkbeds, drifting off to sleep.

…

Sleep was not coming easily to Elizabeth, with Henry so close but so unreachable. Screw comfort, she thought, and slipped out from under the sheets before climbing down the ladder in total darkness, a move she had perfected when she was little and wanted to stay up late reading in her window seat, illuminated by the soft glow of the moon. Now, she crawled in bed next to Henry, trying not to wake him. The single bed was proving to be smaller than she thought, and sure enough, Henry felt her presence and woke up as she wrapped herself around him. "Hey," he whispered, still groggy. "What are you doing down here?"

"I missed you," she answered, and kissed his cheek as she pulled him closer. "Now go back to sleep."

"Okay," he acquiesced, smiling. "I love you."

"I love you too."

* * *

 _A/N: Fin. The next chapter will continue their weekend at the farm, and Henry may get to ride a horse!_


	13. Chapter 13

_A/N: Henry gets to ride a horse today — though we may be a bit more excited about that than he is ;) Enjoy, and as always, reviews make my day!_

Elizabeth woke up to birds chirping and sunlight filtering through the alcove window, just like she remembered. When she was little, her mom would wake her up on weekends with freshly made blueberry pancakes and the promise that they'd go out riding that day, just the two of them. Or, her dad would take her and Will to the lake to show them how to fly fish, and she and her brother would continue their competition for the biggest catch of the year. She always won.

Now, she woke up to the familiar sounds in a familiar room, with one major difference — she was wrapped around a still-sleeping Henry. She couldn't help but smile at the thought of it having come full circle, that she'd brought her own city boy home to the horse farm, just like her mother had done all those years ago. And she hoped with all her heart that her mom, wherever she was, could see Henry now and would approve.

She stared at him a little longer, the smile not leaving her face, until she decided it was time they started their day. She bent upward and whispered in his ear, "Morning, sleepyhead." She felt him murmur and stir, not quite awake, so she kissed his forehead. When that had no effect, she resorted to gently shaking Henry's shoulder at which his eyes finally opened.

"Good morning, beautiful," he mumbled, and kissed her softly. They stayed in their cocoon for a few more minutes, content in their little bubble, kissing lazily. Henry was stroking Elizabeth's hair, and she pecked his nose before extricating herself from the tangle of limbs, and crawling over Henry to get out of the bunk bed. This proved to be more complicated than she expected, and resulted in her falling rather unceremoniously to the floor with a thud. "Elizabeth, are you okay?" Henry shot up and looked over to make sure she wasn't hurt, but Elizabeth was just laughing.

"I guess a single bed really isn't made for two," she giggled. Henry was still looking at her with concern, so she tried to reassure him. "I'm fine! Don't worry!" She stood up and went to open the blinds and let sunlight fill the room. "So, I was thinking we'd go out riding today," Elizabeth suggested, excited to show Henry even more of the farm.

He, however, was still apprehensive. "Babe, the last time I rode a horse was at a carnival when I was six. I have no idea what I'm doing!"

"That's fine! We'll put you on one of the older mares, and you'll get the hang of it, I'm sure." Reluctantly, Henry agreed, and the two of them set out to start the day.

…

It was around 8:00 when Elizabeth and Henry made it down to the barn, and met with Frank to get their tack and horses. Elizabeth was of course going to ride Starduster, but they still had to find a horse for Henry. They settled on an older mare named Molly, who was always popular with children and beginners that visited the farm. She was a grey dappled Quarter Horse with a sweet temper and a lot of patience, and Frank and Elizabeth decided she'd be perfect for Henry. They groomed Molly first, and Elizabeth showed Henry what brushes to use and how to put on the saddle pad, saddle and bridle. When Molly was ready to go, Elizabeth quickly groomed and saddled Starduster before she brought him to the outdoor arena. Henry was a little apprehensive when Frank gave him the reins for the first time, and helped him lead Molly outside.

Standing outside in the morning breeze, Henry was nervous. He was supposed to get on a giant animal in a matter of minutes, and his girlfriend seemed to think he wasn't going to make a total fool of himself. Somehow, he didn't quite believe her. "Okay, now lead her over to the mounting block, put the reins over her head, and swing your right leg over like this," Elizabeth instructed as she gracefully mounted Starduster. She leant down to give the horse a kiss on his neck as he walked calmly over to the opposite fence, giving Henry space. With Frank's help, he had soon hoisted himself up on Molly, and was getting used to the feeling of sitting on a horse. When she stepped forward, Henry was taken by surprise, and Elizabeth couldn't hold back a laugh when she saw his reaction. "You're doing great," she encouraged, and Henry smiled weakly. This was going to be interesting.

It turned out that Henry was a natural, and he and Molly were soon making their rounds through the sand with relative ease. Elizabeth watched them with a smile. Henry really was perfect, she thought, and admired him for getting over his initial apprehension. After a good half hour of instruction from both Frank and Elizabeth, it was decided that Henry was trail-ready. Frank opened the arena gates, and Elizabeth led Starduster out, with Henry and Molly following.

They made their way down the bridle path, walking next to one another, enjoying the warm spring morning. "It really is beautiful from up here," Henry remarked. The trees and pastures dotting the landscape were breathtakingly green, and wild flowers were growing along the sides of the path.

"It's always been my favourite place in the entire world." Elizabeth smiled at the memories that kept coming back to her as they rode along the property and was giddy at the thought of making new ones with Henry. Soon, the bridle path gave way to a green pasture, and Elizabeth led the horses over to the open space. "Care for a little competition?" she challenged, winking at Henry.

"Uhh.."

"Don't worry, just give Molly one squeeze, and she'll trot. Last one to the tree over there is a rotten egg!" Elizabeth started off toward the tree at a walk, and Henry followed. She gave Starduster a little squeeze, and he started to trot, allowing Elizabeth to post and move with the rhythm of the gait. Henry did the same with Molly, and the mare launched herself into a leisurely trot. He wasn't fully acquainted with the gait, which made for a pretty bumpy ride, but they soon arrived at the tree where Elizabeth and Starduster were waiting.

"You're getting good at this," she remarked.

"Thanks. How about we head back, and then you and Starduster can actually go for a ride, not wait for me to catch up all the time?"

"Are you sure?"

"I'll sit under a tree with a book and admire you," he flirted. "What's better than that?"

Elizabeth blushed and they turned the horses around in order to head back to the barn. Once they'd gotten to the bridle path again, Henry turned to Elizabeth. "I'm so happy you brought me out here for the weekend, truly. I love you."

"I love you too. And I'm so happy I get to share this with you." After a few minutes of comfortable silence, she spoke up again. "You know, I never actually told you how it all happened." Henry was confused, but quickly realized she was talking about how her parents died.

"Babe, you don't have to tell me if you don't want to…"

"But I want to, Henry. It was the end of February, and my parents went into DC for some reception. My dad got invited to a bunch of them, since he was a historian, but my parents rarely went. Said they were too fancy, and they'd rather spend their nights at home, with us. But this event was sponsored by the Smithsonian, and my dad was really excited to go. On the way there, the car was hit by a drunk driver. They both died at the scene."

"Baby, I'm so sorry…"

"It's mostly okay now, you know, but having someone there to listen really helps. So thank you for that." She smiled weakly, and leant over to squeeze Henry's hand. They soon arrived at the barn, and Frank was there to help Henry rub Molly down and bring her back to the pasture.

…

Elizabeth took Starduster out on the bridle path again, looking forward to cantering through the fields and feeling the wind on her face. When she was riding, she felt truly free, like nothing in the world could get at her anymore. She nudged Starduster forward, and grinned as they took off across the field. Trees and houses were passing by and blending together into a blur of greens and whites, and Elizabeth was in the middle of it all, flying across the landscape. She got to the woods fairly quickly, where there were always a few logs set up to jump over, so she steered Starduster in that direction. They cleared the logs with ease, and Elizabeth grinned at the feeling of soaring through space and time. The world was really best seen from the back of a horse, she thought, and continued on down the path.

Riding always helped Elizabeth clear her mind, and she was glad for the time alone. It let her think seriously about Henry, and life, and Will, and the farm. Had she been asked a few months ago if she ever saw herself in a serious relationship, Elizabeth would've most likely said no. She had shied from commitment ever since her parents died, and couldn't imagine opening up to anyone like she had done with Henry. She knew her apprehension stemmed from her parents' passing, but there was something else that she hadn't dealt with properly yet, someone else whom she once trusted but who'd broken her heart. No one knew about him, not even Henry, and Elizabeth wasn't sure she'd ever be ready to talk about it. She decided once she met Henry to focus on that relationship, and let the past be in the past.

Starduster and Elizabeth were making their way back to the barn after a long ride, and slowed their pace as they walked up to the property. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see Henry, sitting under a tree as promised. She smiled and dismounted Starduster before leading him over to where Henry sat. "Reading anything good?" she asked when they arrived at the tree.

"Ahhh, it'll do," he replied and set the book down to get up and kiss Elizabeth's cheek. "How was riding?"

"Perfect, as always," she said, a look of contentment on her face.

They spent the rest of the day relaxing and enjoying each other's company — reading outside, taking a walk in the woods, and catching up with Frank, which always included barn chores. Henry turned out to be skilled with a pitchfork, loading the hay into the troughs for the horses to eat outside in the pastures. By the time the sun set, both Henry and Elizabeth were exhausted but happy. They looked forward to another half day spent on the farm, before returning to UVA the next afternoon.

…

As they got ready for bed that night, Henry plopped down on the bottom bunk with a groan. "I'm so sore, I don't think I'll be able to walk for days," he complained, the riding having been a new sensation for his legs, one he wasn't at all used to. "How are you not in pain?"

Elizabeth just laughed at his whining, and walked over toward the bunk beds. "You get used to it, cowboy." She climbed on top of Henry, making sure to steer clear of his aching legs, and kissed him, her tongue demanding entrance to his mouth. He happily obliged, and groaned (for an entirely different reason) when their kissing became more heated. Elizabeth pulled away when they both needed air and winked. "Or, you can always distract yourself with _other_ activities…" she said as she bent down to capture Henry's lips again.

 _A/N: Elizabeth's mysterious past relationship will surface again, so look out for some upcoming drama! Also, this chapter concludes our excursion to the Adams family farm, so the next chapter should put us back at UVA._


	14. Chapter 14

_A/N: Only when writing do you have the power to change the weather on a whim… I did a rain dance, and this is what happened. Enjoy, and reviews make my day brighter!_

* * *

Heavy raindrops clung to the windows of the lecture hall, sliding down the panes in zigzagging rivulets. It was pouring, and no one had seen it coming that morning, which meant Elizabeth Adams sat absentmindedly in her statistics class, wondering when the rain would stop. Her professor droned on and on about some topic she wasn't the least bit interested in today, and she found solace in the fact that half of the class seemed plagued by the same boredom. Some of them even appeared to be dozing off quietly, or not so quietly.

"Now if Marcus over here," the professor pointed to an unlucky kid snoring rather loudly, "would be able to explain to us the difference between correlational and experimental research, we could move along." He jerked awake at everyone's laughter, and looked around the room, utterly confused. Elizabeth felt bad, but couldn't suppress a smirk. The rest of the lecture continued in an equally boring manner, but with more conscious participants. The professor's trick had worked.

As he dismissed the class, Elizabeth got up to gather her stuff. She caught up with Julia in the hall, as her roommate's lecture was only a few doors down. "It's raining buckets!" Julia said by way of a greeting. "And some people say that this much rain almost guarantees hail or a thunderstorm."

"Crap," Elizabeth replied. Their dorm was on the other side of the grounds, and walking all the way in this weather looked to be less and less of a possibility as the rain poured down, and sure enough, the skies darkened even more. "Do we wait it out in here? Or do we get out before it gets even worse?"

"I'd say get out — but to where? We can't sit in a coffee shop for that long, and all the libraries are too far." A clap of thunder hit then, and Julia looked over at Elizabeth, clearly concerned.

"Henry's apartment is close, and he doesn't have class right now. If we hurry we can make it before the storm gets closer."

"Okay, let's go!" They bolted out the door, shrieking as they were drenched immediately, their thin coats proving to be a futile attempt at protection against the water. They ran down the street to Henry's apartment and stood under the awning, laughing as they shivered from the cold. "We're soaking wet!" Julia pointed out, as Elizabeth hit the buzzer for Henry's apartment.

"McCord," he answered.

"It's me. And Julia's here. We're freezing cold and drenched. Can we come in?"

"Of course!" The buzzer sounded and Elizabeth and Julia headed up the stairs, relieved they had made it out of the rain.

When Henry opened the door, he looked both of them up and down and shook his head incredulously, letting them inside. He kissed Elizabeth on the cheek before saying: "You weren't kidding when you said you were drenched. What happened?"

"It's pouring rain, and our dorm is way too far from the lecture hall. So we ran here. And we're freezing cold. Did I mention we're wet and freezing cold?" Julia answered, shivering, but never failing to sass whomever she came across.

"Yes, only once or twice," Henry quipped back. "Let me get you some towels and sweaters. In the meantime, babe, if you guys want tea or coffee to warm up, go ahead."

"Thank you," Elizabeth replied.

…

Elizabeth and Julia were soon wrapped up in blankets on Henry's couch, sipping tea and wearing his ROTC sweatshirts. Henry had turned the tv on and they were watching the weather report, hearing about the freak storm and the possibility of flooding in the next few hours. "Damn," Julia said. "I thought stuff like this was only possible back in Maine, but I guess I'm wrong."

"It happens every once in a while, but flooding's rare," Elizabeth replied. "My dad was stuck in his office one year because of the weather. He said all the professors have a surprising liquor stash, apparently there was some bad drunken karaoke that happened that night." She remembered the story with a smile and chuckled at the thought of a bunch of drunk liberal arts professors, singing bad pop songs.

"It flooded my second year of undergrad," Henry remembered. "Some guys in my dorm said they wanted to get rafts and see if they could float down the street. Needless to say the cops weren't too excited about that one."

"I heard about that," Julia said. "It was in the news because some kids at Bowdoin took inspiration and wanted to try it themselves."

Meanwhile, Elizabeth had unwrapped herself from her blanket and walked over to the window to see how the streets were looking. The rain was still pouring down, hard, and the sky was ominously dark with big, grey rainclouds filling it completely. The streets had turned into little creeks, with water flowing quickly down each one, and Elizabeth knew it would only continue until Charlottesville turned into one big river. She sighed and turned to Henry and Julia, who were still talking. "It's gonna flood. I don't think we can get out of here tonight."

"You can stay here," Henry offered. "The couch is a bit small but otherwise, I have plenty of food and, as Elizabeth can confirm, a very odd collection of movies."

"And a Scrabble board," she added.

"And a Scrabble board."

"Thank you so much," Julia said. "I'm sure the couch will be great."

…

They had settled in fairly quickly, and Henry offered to make pasta for dinner. Just as he had brought the water to a boil, there was a cracking sound, and all the lights went off. "Shit! What the hell?" he cursed in the kitchen, stumbling through the dark to find a flashlight. He bumped into a few chairs and counters before he was successful, finding his junk drawer and producing a flashlight. He turned it on and went looking for Elizabeth and Julia. He found them on the couch, muttering and cursing at the blackout. "Hi there," he said, pointing the light at them and smirking. "Having fun?"

"Ha, Ha, Ha." Julia said, her voice dripping with sarcasm. "Do you have any more lights?"

"I have candles," he quipped, winking at Elizabeth, who knew exactly when they'd been used the last time. She blushed, but luckily it was dark enough so that no one could see the bright crimson that was creeping up her neck and cheeks as she thought of the 'activities' the candles had highlighted the last time they'd been lit. "Sit tight and give me a minute." He padded over to the bedroom and produced a fair amount of candles and a box of matches. "This is all I've got." Once the candles were lit and distributed, Henry's apartment was enveloped in a comfortable, soft glow.

"Well, the pasta's not an option anymore, so cereal anyone?"

"Sure," Elizabeth and Julia replied, and the three of them headed to Henry's kitchen, guided by the flashlight. They made their way back to the living room with bowls of cereal, as it was lighter in there due to the candles. After eating in silence for a little while, Elizabeth suggested they bring out the Scrabble board.

"Are you sure you're prepared for this?" Henry challenged.

"Considering half the words you play have yet to be entered into any English dictionary, I'd say I have a fair shot," she quipped, and Julia just laughed at their competitiveness.

"All right. Game on!"

Elizabeth quickly proved herself the superior Scrabble player, and Henry and Julia were doing their best to keep up. "Why is she so good at this?" Julia whispered to Henry.

"She has some sort of secret power," he whispered back.

Elizabeth had overheard their little discussion, and leant in with conspiratorially. "I come from a long line of word sorcerers, and I'm not divulging any of our tricks." She placed another word on the board, and Henry and Julia groaned.

"What the hell?"

"How do you even…"

"You'll never know," she said, grinning.

After Elizabeth's clear, sweeping victory, they played again, only Henry and Julia teamed up, determined they could beat her together. After all, two heads are supposedly better than one. This attempt proved to be futile, however, as they lost again, this time in an even bigger margin. Defeated, Julia threw her hands up in the air. "I'm done! It's useless. I bow down to you and your mad skills!"

Elizabeth just laughed, and said: "better luck next time," eliciting more groans from her opponents. She packed up the Scrabble board with a smirk, curling back up on the couch.

They spent the rest of the evening in easy discussion, laughing, poking fun at one another, and staying up until the candles were almost burnt down. Finally, Henry went to get Elizabeth and Julia some pyjama pants that would prove to be way too big for the both of them, and sheets for the couch. Julia made herself as comfortable as she could, and everyone said goodnight as Elizabeth followed Henry into the bedroom.

They slipped under the covers and Henry wrapped himself around Elizabeth, kissing her neck. "Thank you for taking us in for the night," she mumbled.

"Any time."

"I love you."

"I love you too."

…

Elizabeth was awoken rather harshly the next morning, as Julia had gotten up and was knocking on the door. "You guys have to see this!" she shouted. "It's insane!"

Henry groaned and buried himself further into the pillows, wanting to shut out his girlfriend's roommate's shouting. Elizabeth reluctantly unwrapped herself from the sheets and opened the door. "Do you know what time it is?" she groaned, shooting Julia a look.

"5 a.m. But look!" She dragged Elizabeth to the window, and looked outside to see what all the fuss was about. "It's a freaking river!" Sure enough, the water had risen overnight, and the streets were truly a river, and looked to be impossible to cross.

"Do you think we'll have class?" Elizabeth asked.

"No, what do you think — that everyone will suddenly buy rafts?"

"Fair."

"Isn't there a phone number to call to figure something like this out?"

"Yeah, let me ask Henry where his directory is. Do the lights work?"

"No, but the phone will," Julia said.

"Okay." Elizabeth went back to the bedroom, where Henry had fallen asleep again, and gently shook him awake. "Morning, babe. You have to look outside, it's completely flooded."

Henry rolled over and opened his eyes, looking up at her. "Morning to you too," he said as he reached out for her hand and pulled her down onto the bed, kissing her as she came closer. She just laughed and curled up next to him.

"Where's your UVA directory?"

"My what?" he looked at her confusedly before grasping the question. "It's in the drawer by the TV."

"Thank you," she said, and kissed his cheek as she got up again to call the school. Henry decided he should better get up and see what the fuss was about, and walked over to his bedroom window, where he was greeted by the sight of the flooded streets, and some early risers trying their luck on a little raft, floating aimlessly around the corner. He chuckled at their obvious lack of rowing skills, and made his way to the living room.

"It doesn't matter if the water is cold or warm if you're going to have to wade through it anyway," he said by way of greeting, eliciting confused looks from Elizabeth and Julia. "Pierre Teilhard de Chardin said that. I thought it was fitting."

"And now I understand the endless quoting thing you keep talking about," Julia said. "Good morning, by the way. You still don't have power, which means no coffee and that sucks."

Elizabeth got off the phone with the school then, and relayed that the weather had caused a cancellation of all of the classes for the day.

"I'm going back to bed," Henry proclaimed, and walked back to the bedroom, leaving Julia and Elizabeth alone.

"Me too, "Julia agreed, laying back down on the couch.

"Okay, since everyone seems to be sleeping in, I might as well." Elizabeth slipped back into bed with Henry, and closed her eyes as sleep washed over her again.

* * *

 _A/N: More flood shenanigans to follow! Stay tuned, and don't worry, I haven't forgotten about former/secret/mystery boyfriend yet._


	15. Chapter 15

_A/N: We've passed 100 reviews (and now 15 chapters), that crazy! Thank you so, so much for the support, it means the world, truly. Here goes another chapter, enjoy!_

* * *

The flooding in Charlottesville was reducing a little the next day, and everyone was glad the power had turned back on mid-morning. The rain had stopped earlier, and the weather reports suggested they should all be back to normal soon.

Henry, Elizabeth and Julia were relieved they'd be able to go back outside, having been cooped up in the cramped apartment all day. They had studied, read, watched a movie once the power was back, and now sat sprawled out in Henry's living room, bored out of their minds.

"I'm hungry," Julia said from her armchair, "and I want to get out of here, no offence, Henry."

"None taken," he replied, "and I could use some food too."

Elizabeth got up from the couch and walked over to look out the window, hoping the water was clearing out from the streets. Sure enough, the level was falling, and she felt confident she and Julia could sleep in the dorms that night. "You know, if someone gets me a fly rod and some lure, I could catch us some dinner from this very window," she joked. She looked back to two unimpressed faces. "What? That was supposed to be funny!"

"It was hilarious, babe," Henry said, bluffing. At the look she shot him, he shrugged his shoulders, "I tried?"

"Don't you have _any_ friends in this building — preferably some who might have had the good sense to go grocery shopping this week?" Julia asked, exasperation in her tone.

…

That's how Henry, Elizabeth and Julia ended up in Eric's apartment across the hall. He and Henry had met in undergrad and become good friends over the years. Eric was getting his Masters in Theoretical Physics, and he, Henry and Elizabeth had had some interesting discussions about string theory over the past few months (though two out of three participants had little to no idea what they were actually talking about). Eric also happened to have a well-stocked fridge, and was a nice guy, and so the group of four were eating dinner at his place, complaining about the weather and the power outage the previous night.

"Julia and I are gonna try to head over to the dorm tonight," Elizabeth announced over a forkful of salad. "I doubt they'll cancel classes again, and we really should get back."

"And I want my bed back," Julia chimed in. "I'm tall, and your couch is short."

"I think you guys should be okay going back," Eric added. "Your dorms are on higher ground anyway, so most of the water will have cleared already." It was decided then, and Elizabeth and Julia packed their bags after dinner and trekked back to their dorm.

Upon arrival, Julia fell back on her bed with a sigh. "That was _fun_? Can I call that fun?"

Elizabeth laughed and plopped down on her own bed. "It was bizarre, at the very least." She noticed the red, blinking light on the answering machine then, and reached over to hit play on the cassette. The message played, but nothing could be heard in the first few seconds. She figured it must've been a wrong number, until a voice on the other end said: "never mind," before she heard the requisite click and the tape stopped. Elizabeth thought she recognized the voice, unmistakeable since she'd heard him speak so many times, but brushed it off. It couldn't be, she rationalized, and shook her head, deleting the message.

"Who was that?" Julia asked.

"Must've been a wrong number," she deflected. They crawled into bed soon thereafter, and Julia fell asleep quickly, the rhythmic sound of her breathing filling the room. Elizabeth couldn't sleep, and tossed and turned, not able to take her mind off the message until she eventually fell into a fitful sleep.

…

The next few days passed as normal, but the message stayed in the back of Elizabeth's mind. Her friends asked why she seemed distracted, but she blamed it on a heavy courseload and exams that week. Memories kept coming back, and she did her best to push them away, and focus on her work, immersing herself in her books to distract herself.

She was studying alone in her dorm Thursday afternoon, listening to music on her walkman, trying to focus on Constitutional Law, and grateful that Julia was out with her new boyfriend and wouldn't be interrupting. She didn't notice the phone ring over the music, and was therefore surprised when she saw the red light of the answering machine out of the corner of her eye. She pulled off the headphones and pressed play, wondering who was calling the room at that time of day.

"Hey Liz, it's me, Josh," the message began, and Elizabeth couldn't believe who she was hearing. "I miss you, it's been too long. And I'm all the way up at Princeton, alone. Don't you miss me too? I'm sorry about everything that happened, and I want to make it up to you. I'm coming down to Charlottesville over the weekend to visit my aunt, and I'll make sure to stop by, baby. You know, we ended on such a bad note, I can't let that be the end. You get it, right? Anyway, I'll call when I get here, and let you know where we can meet. And Liz, I'd so _appreciate_ you not standing me up. See you soon."

The tape clicked, and Elizabeth was too shocked to turn it off. Eventually, she snapped out of it and hit the button before falling back onto her bed, speechless. She was so sure it was in her past, and finally over, now that they were both in college. Turned out she was dead wrong.

…

She'd started dating Josh the second semester of her senior year of high school. He was tall, blue eyed and had the perfect, sun-kissed skin and golden hair. He was the resident heartthrob at Houghton Hall, and all the girls fawned over him. He'd been the captain of the varsity lacrosse team for as long as anyone could remember, and he came from a wealthy family with a house in the Hamptons, complete with vacations to Newport and halfway around the world. Known for his sense of humour and general charm, he managed to mesmerize everyone he met.

Elizabeth had not expected him to approach her at all; she was bookish and outspoken, and spent her time debating on the roofs of dorms with Joey while her friends were out "having fun," something they insisted she never had enough of. She was focused on her studies and getting good grades, and never let her background provide her with opportunities she hadn't poured her own effort into.

Josh, on the other hand, was the definition of a prep school kid, and seemed confident his lineage alone could guarantee him his future. So she'd been totally thrown when he came up to her after class one day asking for help on a Calculus assignment. She'd quickly explained the problems to him, and thought that would be the end of their interaction, but Josh asked her out for ice cream afterward. Too flabbergasted to refuse, she'd gone along and listened to him explain that he really wasn't like everyone thought he was, that his reputation wasn't the "real" Josh, but something thrust upon him that he couldn't seem to shake, no matter how hard he tried.

She empathized with him, and told him she understood. Her parent's passing had forced her to adopt a façade too, a steely strength and a tight lock on her true feelings. She hadn't opened up to anyone about their death, but Josh made her reconsider that. He was sweet, and seemed so down to earth that she found herself sucked into his charm instantly. Maybe he'd understand, she thought, and decided she'd give it a chance, not now, but in the future. As they left the ice cream shop, he pressed a kiss to her cheek, and she blushed, butterflies forming in her stomach.

When her friends found out she was dating Josh, they couldn't contain their excitement. She was finally getting attention from boys, and they were going to obsess over every step of the relationship and live vicariously through their friend. Every little milestone was hugely important to them, and Elizabeth found herself at the centre of social attention, something she'd never experienced before. She and Josh became the couple at school, and he reassured her all the attention wasn't that big a deal, that it'd pass and she would get used to it. She never did.

It was too good to be true. When it was just the two of them, Josh was ever the gentleman, seemingly perfect. But with others, he immediately reverted to his usual self, ogling other girls, making stupid jokes with his friends and treating her like she was just another cheerleader or field hockey player he was having a fling with. He always told her he was sorry for the way he acted, but bit by bit, she began to doubt his sincerity. She brushed it off though, telling herself it was normal, and that she shouldn't be so wary of affection all the time.

As the relationship progressed, Josh became more controlling, demanding her time and attention, and subtly pushing her toward choices she'd normally never make. Even Will noticed she was dressing differently, and had started to put more makeup on when she saw him over spring break. She dismissed him, saying he should quit attacking her and just be happy she'd become more outgoing, never actually telling him about Josh. But deep down she was starting to recognize herself less and less.

When she cancelled on Josh for a night of debating with Joey in April of second semester, he blew up in her face, questioning her commitment. She should've taken that as a sign, but apologized instead, promising to make it up to him later. This sort of behaviour continued and Elizabeth was slipping further and further down the rabbit hole.

Joey was the one to rip her out of the fantasy, confronting her one night. She'd argued with him about it for a while, trying to justify how Josh was treating her, to explain to him that he had to keep the act up in public, but as she was making excuses to Joey, it dawned on her just how much she'd let herself fall for the lies and charming façade, and how much she'd truly changed. She broke down in tears that night, and Joey did his best to comfort her and tell her it'd all turn out okay. She tried to listen and understand, but she was filled with so much shame, for trusting Josh and changing herself to fit his expectations.

When she'd finally mustered all of her courage to break up with him, Josh freaked. There were accusations, and he yelled and told her she'd regret this, because no one broke up with Josh Levy, and he'd make sure she lost any ounce of popularity she ever had. When it was over, Josh's threats became true, rumours were started and she was painted in a horrible light. Elizabeth retreated into her own bubble, throwing herself into her schoolwork for the last few weeks, and spending most of her time in her room, wanting to avoid the taunting and jeering of her classmates.

Joey was one of the few people to stick with her through this, and he kept reminding her that this was in no way her fault, that she'd been roped into an elaborate scheme. She had a hard time believing him. What disgusted her the most about the situation was her compliance, how she went to Josh for affection, and did it willingly. She couldn't believe she had been so stupid.

The night before graduation, on the roof of Sukaly dorm, Joey gave Elizabeth one last pep talk, and they stayed up almost all night talking about the future, and how they'd actually be going out into the world to make a difference, not debating hypotheticals. Elizabeth went to bed that night determined never to let anyone treat her like Josh had, to be in charge of her own emotions and whom she opened up to. It was the reason she was able to smile the next day while receiving her diploma, and the reason the future didn't look quite as bleak anymore.

…

Elizabeth now had to face the fact that her past was catching up with her, majorly. She wracked her brain about what she should do — face Josh and end it once and for all, or hope to God he didn't find her this weekend. Truthfully, all she wanted to do was hide out in her dorm until he left again, but she knew that wasn't possible. He'd gotten her phone number, what was to say he couldn't find her dorm too? She had to see him, she concluded, no matter how hard it would be.

Henry, she thought. Crap. She needed to tell him, before Josh pulled anything crazy. She had to come clean and let him know what happened and hope he would understand. She dialled the familiar number and waited for him to pick up.

"McCord."

"Hey, it's me. Can I come over? I need to talk to you."

"Babe, hi! I'm so sorry, but the ROTC is sending me to Quantico this weekend, and they want me on a train in an hour, and they didn't tell me till this morning, so…"

"No problem," she deflected, "Have a good trip, I'll see you when you get back."

"Elizabeth, what did you want to talk to me about?"

"It's nothing, I love you. See you soon."

"I love you too, bye babe." The receiver clicked, and Elizabeth flopped back on her bed. Maybe this was perfect, she thought, Henry would be gone, and Josh would be here, and when it was all over, neither of them had to know the other existed. Deep down, she knew that wasn't true, but she let herself believe it, if only so she could get through the week without worrying.

* * *

 _A/N: To be continued_ _…_ _lizandhenry, here's mystery boyfriend, I hope you're on board for a little drama, and as always, reviews make my day brighter._


	16. Chapter 16

_A/N: Thank you so much for the amazing feedback on the last chapter! I can't begin to say how grateful I am for your support. Here goes Part 2 of the Josh chronicles… Enjoy!_

* * *

Time seemed to be passing at a snail's pace, inching incrementally toward Sunday. Elizabeth was anxious, distracted, and impatiently awaiting instructions from Josh. They came on Saturday while she was eating lunch, so Elizabeth only heard the message when she went back to her dorm room that afternoon. There were also messages from Henry, which she listened to but didn't answer. She couldn't bring herself to speak to him, knowing she wouldn't be able to keep the worry out of her voice if she called. At this point, Henry could read her like a book, and he'd be able to tell, and he'd ask questions, and she just couldn't answer them. Normally, Elizabeth could hide her true feelings from everyone, put up walls and direct conversations so she only had to share what _she_ was comfortable with.

But that was impossible with Henry; with him she was vulnerable, and open, unable to conceal anything once he found out something was wrong. Not that her openness toward him scared her, no, it made her feel safe, and empowered, and cherished, and she loved him for it. Henry's presence was her safe place, her bubble, but it couldn't be that right now.

Right now, she had to manage the situation with Josh, and she couldn't speak to Henry, or worry him. She had to do this alone, and get him out of her life for good. So she listened to all the messages, wiped the tape, took a deep breath, and prayed to God she'd be able to face tomorrow.

…

As per Josh's instructions, Elizabeth showed up at a local coffee shop at two. He wasn't there yet, so she sat down at a table and looked around, trying to calm her nerves. A few minutes later, the door opened, and in walked Josh Levy, looking exactly how she remembered him. He came over to her table, and she stood, unable to say anything.

"Liz, it's good to see you," he said, kissing her cheek. She recoiled at his touch, but he didn't seem to notice and sat down, a smirk on his face. "How have you been?"

"Fine, you?" she replied, an iciness to her tone. She had to stay strong, she reminded herself, she wasn't going to let him fool her again.

"That's good to hear. I miss you, you know that? We ended on such a bad note."

"We ended because I broke up with you, Josh."

"What a shame that was too," he said, an undertone in his voice that made Elizabeth's skin crawl.

"Why are you here? And why did you demand to see me?"

"Liz, come on, I'm just catching up."

"Josh, if you think there's even a sliver of a chance you're getting me back, or any sympathy from me whatsoever, you couldn't be more wrong. Why are you here?"

"You know, we had such a good time at the beginning, don't you remember? Secret dates, until your friends found out, pretending you were tutoring me…"

"Honestly, I really don't. And I don't want to try."

"That's your choice, Liz, but it's a shame. Do you want anything to drink?" he asked then, getting up to order them coffee. Elizabeth tried to decline, but Josh insisted, and they were soon seated with two steaming beverages in front of them. The silence was deafening. Elizabeth couldn't help but ask her next question, unsure of why she was even going there, and unsure if she really wanted an answer.

"Why me, Josh? Why the hell did you pick me?"

"Because," he answered, a coy smirk on his face, "I'd never gone out with a co-captain of the debate club before."

"You're unbelievable. Why are you talking to me right now, why are we doing this?"

"Liz, are you still single?" Josh changed the subject. "Because a girl like you would be a steal anywhere, with your hair, and those eyes, and your legs…"

Elizabeth was so frustrated, and furious, and past any rationality that she did the one thing she vowed not to do during this conversation, under no circumstance.

"No, I'm not."

She mentioned Henry. Shit.

"Well, well, who's the guy?"

Before she knew it, Josh had jumped on the topic, and there was no way out. She had no chance deflecting, or changing the subject, and it was her own fault. "He's a grad student. We've been dating a couple of months. And I'm very happy, not that that's any of your business."

"So it's serious. Liz Adams is in a serious relationship. You know, that's something I never expected to hear." Elizabeth sat there, her face seemingly lacking emotion, but inside, she felt like she was about to cry. So Josh had really only thought of her as a fling, nothing more. Of course she'd come to that conclusion earlier, but it hurt so much more for the confirmation to come from him directly. It was like a stab to the chest, a complete dismissal of everything she'd felt for him in those weeks where they'd been together, a dismissal of everything he'd ever said to make her feel that way. She swallowed thickly before speaking.

"It's serious, Josh."

"Oh I'm sure _you_ think it is, Liz. But does he?"

"Of course," she replied, it was Henry after all, and he loved her. Why wouldn't it be serious?

"So he's moved past your commitment issues, great for the both of you." Josh looked at her, speaking with ridicule in his tone, and Elizabeth couldn't believe it.

"Commitment issues?"

"Oh come on Liz, you don't open up to anyone. To say nothing about the fact that you're completely emotionally unavailable. I mean, that makes you the perfect girlfriend," he laughed at his own joke before continuing. "Are you sure he's not just dating you because you're cute? But if it works for you, please, continue with the delusion."

"I'm not…" she managed, at a total loss for words. She had to regain control of the situation, and steered back to her still unanswered question. "Why are you here? You never did tell me."

"To see what happened to Elizabeth Adams, post graduation, post Houghton Hall… post _me_ , I suppose."

"Well, I'm sitting right here. That's your answer. You got what you came for. I have to go." She got up from the table and walked over to the door, wanting so badly to get away, to turn back time and never have this conversation happen. Josh followed her to the door, but she shot him a look and pushed it open, walking away as fast as she could. She didn't look back, not once, until she was back on the grounds, crossing the Lawn, and she found an old bench under a tree where she slumped down and sobbed.

Elizabeth Adams had always considered herself strong, and fiercely independent. She prided herself on making her own decisions, and voicing her own opinions, always ready for a discussion or debate. But when her parents died, the ground slipped from under her feet. Suddenly, the strength and independence she'd been so proud of became a daily need, just to stay afloat amidst the grief, and the move, and boarding school. She put up walls to the outside world, and shielded her emotions from anyone who came too close. It was her way of coping, and she made it work.

With the walls came a fear of opening up, of letting herself go, of giving up too much of the quiet strength she carried with her. Commitment issues. That's what other people called it. But it wasn't really commitment she shied away from, it was the fear of loss, of being left alone to deal with her own feelings again, of being helpless.

That had all changed with Henry. She felt so at ease with him, and suddenly opening up wasn't such a scary prospect anymore. So brick by brick, Elizabeth broke down her walls and let Henry in. She told him about her parents, and Will, she took him to the farm and let him hold her on the day of their passing. She revealed the true Elizabeth bit by bit, unsure of how he would react, if he would see her differently now that she'd bared her soul.

But he didn't. With quiet understanding and his simple act of _being there_ , he made her feel safe, and empowered, and loved. If asked a day ago if his behaviour was anything less than completely sincere, she wouldn't have hesitated for a second. No. Henry was the most kind and considerate person she'd ever met, and he had nothing but good and honest intentions.

Now, Josh's words still echoed in the back of her mind. He had planted that little seed of doubt, that unshakeable little voice that whispered in your ear, that you couldn't help but listen to.

"Commitment issues."

"Emotionally unavailable."

They replayed in her head over and over, and she was unable to shake the thought. Was she really cold, distant, heartless? Self doubt overtook her as she tried to dismiss what he'd said, chalk it up to him trying to provoke her, to elicit exactly the reaction she was having now, but she couldn't. It stuck with her as she got up from the bench and dried her tears, walking back to the dorm.

The little nagging voice wouldn't quit, and Elizabeth tried to distract herself with her books, to no avail. Who was she kidding, she thought, getting deep into a relationship? Would she ever be able to connect with Henry the way he deserved? Would he tire of trying to get her to open up about her past? Was she too broken? All the rational parts of her brain screamed that she was being absurd, but all she could think of was Josh, laughing and joking that she was "the perfect girlfriend." Was he right? Would Henry be better off with someone else?

The phone ringing ripped her from her thoughts, and she picked up, sighing. "Adams."

"Hey babe, it's me!" Henry sounded so happy, and she couldn't help but smile a little at the sound of his voice.

"Hi," she breathed.

"I just got back, I missed you! Do you want to go get dinner?"

"I'm sorry, I can't, I have so much studying to do, I'm afraid I won't be much company."

"Oh, no problem," he said, and she could hear the disappointment in his voice. It pained her, but she couldn't face him, not now. The little nagging voice was doing a great job of filling her with all kinds of doubt, so Elizabeth did what she did best in situations like this — she retreated into herself and her own thoughts. Which is why she lied to Henry, and blew him off. And she hated herself for it the second the words left her mouth.

"Listen, I missed you too, and I'm glad you're back," she said quickly. The guilt was overwhelming. "I have to go, I love you."

"Love you too, call me when you can?"

"Of course." She lied again, and hung up the phone, as tears threatened to fall again.

…

Henry could tell as soon as Elizabeth picked up the phone that something was wrong. He knew his girlfriend too well, and he knew she'd be reluctant to talk about what happened, so he decided to give her a bit more space, and time to bring it up herself. He was worried, naturally, but took solace in her strength and resilience, and made up his mind to see her the next day, and get to the bottom of this.

* * *

 _A/N: This was kind of all over the place, I know… but I needed the buildup for the next chapter. As always, reviews make my day brighter._


	17. Chapter 17

_A/N: The Josh chronicles continue! Thank you for all the reviews, and as much as I agree that Henry punching Josh would be satisfying (you guys are hilarious) I don't think our favourite religious scholar would run with that idea. :)_

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It had been three days. Three days since Josh showed up out of the blue and broke Elizabeth's heart all over again. Three days since Henry came back from Quantico. Three days since she'd spoken to him on the phone and lied. Three days since he figured out something was wrong and tried to find her. Three days that she'd successfully spent avoiding him.

On the evening of the third day, Henry was determined to find her, to figure out what was going on that was causing her to put up walls around herself. So he made his way over to the building where she had her last class, waiting until she left so he could talk to her. He almost missed her as she walked through the doors, turning around the corner.

"Elizabeth!" he called, and started after her. She either didn't hear him, or didn't want to, because she just increased her speed and walked further away. At this point, Henry was getting frustrated and started running after her, panting as he caught up and grabbed her hand. She stopped and shot him a look, perplexed.

"What are you doing?"

"Trying to talk to you, for the past few days actually. I haven't seen you since I got back."

"Well, I'm sorry, but I've got to—"

"Elizabeth," he interrupted. "What's going on?"

"Nothing," she deflected. "I just have a lot of work." Henry didn't buy it — not for a second. He knew Elizabeth too well, she always excelled academically and couldn't possibly be so bogged down with studying at this point in the semester. No, this was an avoidance tactic.

"Babe, are you okay?" he asked, softer this time. There was no use in making her angry, she'd only shut him out more. He looked at her with such concern in his eyes, and she was struggling not to crawl into his embrace and sob.

"Of course," she lied. It seemed so much easier than admitting she was insecure, but she had a feeling Henry already knew it was all an act.

"Hey, do you want to do something? Take your mind off of school for a little?" he asked, hoping she would take the bait and they would talk later. She shrugged and he took it as a good sign, pushing a little further. "I have some of that chocolate coffee ice cream you love, and I haven't given up on beating you at Scrabble yet," he suggested, winking. Henry wanted to take her to his apartment because it was private, and he hoped she'd be comfortable enough there to open up.

"Okay," she said, and a tiny smile crept on her face. He beamed. Henry linked their arms, and they headed to his apartment, not really talking as they walked across the grounds.

Once they'd gotten settled on Henry's couch with the ice cream, Henry looked at Elizabeth squarely. "Ok, what's really going on?"

She looked up from her ice cream and he tried to read the expression on her face. "Nothing, Henry. Don't worry about it.''

"Babe, I love you, and that means I care about you, and you seem upset. Please let me help," he plead, wanting to do anything to make her feel better.

"Henry, I…" she began, the exasperation evident in her tone. "I'm fine! I don't need saving, I'm perfectly okay on my own!"

"On your own?" he asked, confused.

Elizabeth's eyes grew wide as she realized what she'd just said, and she backtracked. "I didn't mean it like that! I just meant I can cope with my own feelings — Henry, I'm sorry. I love you, please know that." She set her ice cream down and moved closer to him, placing a hand on his thigh.

"I know you didn't," he reassured her. "I just don't want you to think you have to deal with something bad by yourself."

"Henry, I'm fine, I swear."

"You wanted to talk to me about something before I left. What was that?" Elizabeth took a second to remember the conversation and sighed when she realized she'd wanted to tell him about Josh.

"It's no big deal. You promised Scrabble," she said, changing the subject and opening the box that sat on the coffee table.

"Elizabeth—"

"Come on! You said you were gonna try and beat me!" He sighed and reluctantly agreed to play, knowing any further prodding would be futile.

They had gotten halfway through the tiles, and Elizabeth stared down at her options, trying to decide what word to place next. She was lost in her thoughts, unable to shake the conversation with Josh and Henry's questions afterward. Were Josh's accusations true? The thought had been burning in the back of her mind since Sunday, and she had been wracking her brain, trying to make sense of the mess he'd created. "Am I emotionally unavailable?"

The words slipped out of her mouth before she had any time to realize she had voiced her thoughts aloud. Henry's eyes moved up from the Scrabble board and he looked at her. "Pardon?"

"Nothing," she said hastily, but Henry knew better. He eyed her as if to say he knew she was hiding something, and she felt herself unable to look him in the eyes. "I didn't say anything!" she yelled. Elizabeth got up and moved to the other side of the room. She couldn't bear to see his face. He'd make it impossible for her to lie any more.

"Babe," Henry called as he stood up himself. "What happened?" He moved toward her and wrapped his arms around her as she wriggled out of his embrace. Reluctantly, he let go and watched her move back to the couch and pull her legs up under herself. He would pester her all he could, but make her feel physically uncomfortable? No, Henry could never bring himself to that. So he sat down across from her, giving her all the space she needed. "Do you want to talk about it now?"

Elizabeth knew brushing it off further was futile, he knew something was wrong, had probably known since he got back, and it was no use pretending anymore. "Am I emotionally unavailable? That's what I asked earlier, Henry. Am I?" she said, looking over to the window.

Henry was shocked. He hadn't expected anything like that to come out of her mouth, and wondered what had provoked this. "Elizabeth, you are the most caring human being I've ever come across. How could you think that even for a second?"

He got up from his chair and moved to sit next to her on the couch, rubbing his hand up and down her back. As she tilted her head to look at him, he could see unshed tears shining in her eyes. He pressed a kiss to her forehead and she leant into him, burying her face in the crook of his neck. He wrapped his arms around her and she began to sob.

Once Elizabeth had let herself melt into Henry's embrace, she hadn't been able to hold back the tears anymore. As she felt him rub her back gently to calm her down, she was so grateful for him, for being there and somehow understanding she needed to let it all out. He shifted further back on the couch so they could be more comfortable and cradled her small frame in his arms, suddenly filled with so much rage that someone or something had made her feel this insecure, and let her bottle up her feelings like this. As her crying subsided, she looked up at him again, and he ever so gently wiped the tears form her cheeks. "Better?" he asked.

She nodded and kissed his cheek, sighing as she laid her head on his chest again. "I guess it's no use trying to say I'm fine now," she said, a dry laugh escaping her lips.

"Not so much," he responded. "Baby, what happened?"

She sat up and looked at Henry squarely. "You had girlfriends before me, right?" she asked.

"Yeah," he answered, utterly confused. "I thought you knew that. It was nothing serious though."

"I know, and you know I had boyfriends before too. They were in Paris, over the summer, nothing serious either. But I had one boyfriend in high school, that you don't know about. His name was Josh." Henry looked at her, trying to figure out where she was heading. "Well, Josh goes to Princeton now, but he has an aunt in Charlottesville, and he came to visit her this weekend. And he wanted to see me for coffee." As Henry tensed up on the other side of the sofa, Elizabeth was quick to reassure him. "It's okay Henry, nothing happened. I love you. Don't worry, please."

He let out a breath and willed some of his anger to go away, trusting her not to hide anything anymore. He nodded for her to continue. "I met Josh senior year, and he asked me out out of the blue. He was one of the jocks, and all the girls were obsessed with him. He wanted help on a math assignment, and after, he took me out for ice cream. We started dating, and he was so different from what he was like in public. He was nice, and caring, and a good guy, but when he was with his friends, he was still a jerk. I couldn't see it then, but when he told me he had to keep up an act that was forced on him, he was lying. The act was when we were alone, that part of him was fake."

As Elizabeth continued speaking, Henry's rage built up all over again. How could someone have done this to her? Lead her on and made her feel safe only to crush her weeks later? Make her change to fit his expectations? He couldn't fathom it, and his heart broke for her. Elizabeth was the most kind, caring person he'd ever met, and it physically pained him that someone had exploited her kindness, and her vulnerability. Not that she wasn't strong, hell, Elizabeth was just about the strongest person he knew, and he was in the ROTC, it was that Josh had used her grief over her parents to his advantage that made Henry's blood boil. He listened to her finish the story of their relationship in high school and found himself unable to speak.

"Baby, are you okay?" she asked as she finished talking. Henry looked up at her, flabbergasted. She'd just told him how she got her heart broken and was asking if _he_ was all right? What he'd done to ever deserve her was a mystery to him.

"Elizabeth, I'm so, so sorry. I can't believe he did this to you."

"I'd moved on from high school, Henry, and it was okay. I mean, I met you. That made everything better." She smiled softly and he opened up his arms, beckoning her into his embrace. She accepted the invitation gratefully, and curled up in his arms, warm and safe in her own personal bubble.

"That still doesn't explain why you were upset," Henry whispered. "What happened when you met him for coffee?"

"Do I have commitment issues?" she asked by way of an answer. She figured if there was a time to voice all her fears and concerns, it was now. "Do I take too long to open up?" She stared up at him with eyes full of concern, like he may actually answer _yes_ to either of those questions. His heart broke for her all over again.

"No," he answered with an intensity that neither of them had expected. "No," he repeated, softer this time. "Elizabeth, anyone who has even a shred of compassion will understand your situation. You lost your parents when you were so young, babe. I can't pretend to know what that feels like, but trust me when I say you do not have commitment issues. Hell, you were the first one to say: 'I love you'!"

"Okay," she replied, still insecure. "Well, I met Josh for coffee and he wanted to see what happened to me after Houghton Hall, and graduation, and him. Turns out he hasn't changed at all, he's still a jerk. But he, I don't know, it's stupid when I think about it now… You know that little nagging voice that vocalizes all your fears?" Henry nodded. "He made that come back. And my first instinct is still to keep to myself when I'm insecure, so I did. And I avoided you. And believed him, and I'm so sorry. Because of course he's wrong, but I couldn't see it."

"Babe, you don't have to be sorry. It's his fault, not yours. And you did open up. See? We're here, and we're talking, and that's all that matters."

"How are you so gosh-darn perfect, Mr. McCord?" she asked, a small smile on her face. He grinned, and dipped down to kiss her.

"I happen to have some skills," he teased. She giggled and his heart soared. "Elizabeth, I want you to know that no matter what happens, you can come talk to me," he said, suddenly serious again. "You don't have to deal with things alone anymore. I'm right here, and I love you."

"I love you too."

"Is he still in Charlottesville?" he asked, concerned.

"No, I think he went back Sunday night."

"Good, because I'm fighting a serious urge to find him and punch him."

"Henry!" she exclaimed. "You're not serious?"

"Let's be glad he's not in the state," Henry said, pulling her closer. "Because all my scholarly pacifism goes out the window when it comes to you, darlin'."

"Are there any good quotes for this?"

" _Love takes up where knowledge leaves off._ So no, I don't think so."

"Who was that?" she asked.

"Aquinas," he answered with a smile.

"Of course." They talked deep into the night, about life, about love, about those little nagging voices you could never quite get rid of. And when they finally fell asleep, it was tangled together on Henry's couch, just as they had the first time, and they couldn't have been happier.

* * *

 _A/N: And they're talking again! Fret not, this story is not done! And this arc may resurface way, way down the line. For now, we're back in our happy college bubble! Reviews make my day brighter._


	18. Chapter 18

_A/N: It's been quite a while, so sorry! But here we go again, with a chapter of shameless, cheesy fluff. Elizabeth needed some reassuring after what I put her through. Reviews make my day!_

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Elizabeth sat in the library until late in the night, trying to wrap her head around constitutional law. The class was fascinating, she had to admit, but the intricacies of government and the laws it enacted proved to be tedious at the least. It seemed to her like government had the same amount of rules preventing reform or progress as it had promoting them, if not more. If politicians were forced to work in such conditions, she thought, how could they ever be expected to actually get things done?

She let her mind wander, and started absentmindedly flipping through the pages of her textbook, feeling the words and images reduce to a singular blur. She rubbed her eyes, yawning, and stretched her arms in hopes of regaining some energy. In the process, Elizabeth's elbow bumped into a book on the desk, and it hit the ground with a thud. The few people still sitting around her eyed her with condescension, and she blushed. She reached down to pick up the offending object when something caught her eye.

A white envelope had slipped out halfway from between the pages, and Elizabeth pulled it out, curious to see what she'd find. She held the envelope up, and turned it over to find her name written neatly on the front. The handwriting was familiar, and she recognized it immediately — Henry. A smile crept on her face at the realization, and she was filled with a light, giddy feeling at the thought that her boyfriend had written her something. He really was perfect, she mused, curling up in the armchair she was sat in to read Henry's note. She opened the envelope gingerly, savouring feeling of the smooth paper, and pulled out a letter. When she began to read, tears immediately pooled in the corners of her eyes.

* * *

My dearest Elizabeth,

I don't know where to begin. And yes, I know that seems strange, since I've dedicated most of my life so far to the words of great thinkers. You'd think some of their wisdom rubbed off along the way, but alas, I'm at a loss. All I know is that if anyone deserves a proper love letter, it's you.

Words cannot accurately describe how much you mean to me, or how much I admire you, every second of every day. Elizabeth Adams, you are my everything, and I love you with all my heart.

When I first saw you, I was awestruck. I don't think you payed much attention to me, too focused on your paper, and later, after I'd made a total fool of myself, rightfully furious. But somehow, you took a chance and gave me another. You let me in to that brilliant mind of yours, and allowed me the privilege of getting to know you. And knowing you now, I'm so thankful. I honestly cannot imagine my life without you.

As Angelita Lim said, "I saw that you were perfect and I loved you. Then I saw that you were not perfect and I loved you even more." Because, Babe, no one is perfect, but you're pretty damn close. I promise.

Elizabeth, you are the strongest person I know. You are sharp, resilient, quick-witted, you always keep me on my toes, and your mind never, ever stops working. I can't wait to see where it takes you, and how many other people you'll duly impress. Know that I'll be there cheering you on every step of the way.

Your strength is the quiet kind, born out of terrible loss that I wish you never had to endure. But somehow, you made it out the other side as a fiercely independent person, with your head positioned firmly on your shoulders. I'm awestruck every time I think of the grace with which you've gone through life so far, and can only hope to be half as poised myself.

Elizabeth, your kind and caring soul might be my favourite thing about you. I know you've doubted yourself, asked me of you were closed off, but I cannot begin to say how untrue that is. You care so deeply, and I feel that every time I'm with you. You touch everyone around you, your presence is magnetic, and every glance I steal in your direction brightens my day.

I love every inch of you, Babe, from the tip of your nose all the way down to your toes. (That rhymed, and yes, I am now officially the sentimental one.) Your kisses make me giddy, and your touch sets my skin on fire. I long for you whenever we're apart, and I'm happiest when we're tangled together and it's hard to tell where one of us starts and the other one ends. Those are the moments where I'm positive you're the other half to my whole. You complete me, Elizabeth, in more ways than one.

This letter is a bumbling mess, I'm aware, but please know that just means I'm at a loss of how to accurately put my feelings down on paper. "There is a madness in loving you, a lack of reason that makes it feel so flawless." Leo Christopher

All my love, forever and always,

Henry

* * *

As she finished reading the letter, she wiped tears from her cheeks that had begun to fall in earnest about two lines in. The giddy smile was still plastered across her face, and she was filled with a warm, comforting feeling. Henry's words had been exactly what she needed, a reaffirmation that she was loved and cherished. Even after all the doubt she'd felt. He truly was perfect, she thought. She felt like the luckiest girl in the world, that this man had let her in, and accepted her as she was, and loved her for it.

As Elizabeth sat and ran her fingers over the letter, rereading the quotes he'd put in (of course Henry would use quotes) she was filled with a need to see him, to touch him, to tell him just how grateful she was to have him in her life. She packed up her books quickly, almost on autopilot, her mind too occupied with Henry to give anything else space.

She crossed the grounds at a considerable speed, practically running to Henry's apartment. As she stood by the buzzers, she took a second to catch her breath. Someone walked out the front door then, and she slipped inside the building, using the open door instead of buzzing in. She walked up the steps to Henry's floor, and knocked on the door. God, she _had_ to see him.

It took what felt like an eternity for him to open the door, and she waited anxiously, practically holding her breath. The door swung open, and there stood Henry. She stepped in the apartment and closed the door behind her. Her breath hitched in her throat again as she met his eyes and smiled, dropping her bag to the floor. Before he had the chance to say anything, she'd thrown her arms around his neck and crashed her lips to his, quite literally taking his breath away. He stumbled backwards, bracing himself as she flung herself at him, but reacting quickly and wrapping his own arms around her slim frame. She kissed him like her life depended upon it, and he met her stroke for stroke, tangling his fingers in her golden locks, pulling their bodies flush.

When they broke apart for air, she grinned at him again. "What the hell, Elizabeth?" Henry asked. "Not that I'm complaining," he added. He was flabbergasted nonetheless.

"I love you," she said by way of an explanation, "and you're perfect, and I love you." She punctuated each part of her response with a peck to his lips.

"I love you too," he responded instinctually. "But still—"

"I found the letter," she admitted, smiling. "And I had to see you."

"You read it, huh?" He was grinning now too, and they stood in the entry of his apartment, smiling like fools.

"I did, and I cried, and you're perfect, okay?"

"Okay," he said, kissing her cheek. "You're pretty great too."

She laughed and shoved him playfully, "Idiot. Shut up and kiss me." He did just that, capturing her lips again. He lifted her effortlessly, and she wrapped her legs around his waist, grinning into the kiss. He carried her to the bedroom, and deposited her on the bed gently, peppering kisses to her neck and collarbones. She smiled up at him, and pulled him in for a searing kiss.

…

After, they laid in a tangle of limbs and sheets, breathing heavily, still recovering. "Is this really your favourite place?" she whispered, recalling Henry's letter.

"Yes."

"It's my favourite too." She went silent for a moment, the letter's contents washing over her again, his sweet words engraved upon her soul. "I didn't know how much I needed that, Henry, and I'm so grateful."

"Elizabeth, you deserve to be reminded every single day that you're the most wonderful human being I've ever come across. Okay? Take this as today's reminder."

"Okay." That was all she could manage to say, too overcome with feelings for anything else. Henry seemed to understand, pulling her closer and pressing a kiss to her hair. He breathed in her scent and a sense of belonging washed over him.

"Can I ask you something?" Elizabeth said after a little while.

"Sure. What is it?" Henry was curious as to what she wanted to know, and moved so they laid on their sides, facing one another. He took her hands in his, and rubbed gentle circles on her palms.

"I've never really thought about this, but you might be the only person I know that actually calls me Elizabeth. Why?"

"It just kind of happened, I honestly don't know. Do you not like it?"

"No, I do like it. It's special, you know? It's just between us."

"It is." He kissed her nose and she giggled, pecking his lips in response. "I don't get how you let people call you Bess though…" he mused.

"How come?"

"I had a great aunt named Bess, she always had these sugar free chocolate things when we got to her house, and honestly, I can still taste them just thinking about it." Henry cringed at the memory. "She made us eat them when we got there, and they were awful!"

"Well," Elizabeth teased, "I'd like to think I make a prettier Bess than she did."

"No doubt." Henry laughed and pulled her in for another kiss, stoking the fire again. They crashed together for the second time that night, and after, when they were sated and spent, and drifting off to sleep, Henry mumbled in Elizabeth's ear.

"The greatest happiness of life is the conviction that we are loved; loved for ourselves, or rather, loved in spite of ourselves."

"Who?"

"Victor Hugo."

"Only you can quote French poets, naked, in the middle of the night."

"I know. I love you."

"I love you too."

* * *

 _A/N: Fin. This was short and rambly, I know!_


	19. Chapter 19

_A/N: If I had a descriptive writing teacher, he or she would probably go nuts over this… It's finals season, and I thought it'd be fitting for our favourite couple to take some too (as I procrastinate and try to prepare for AP exams). Enjoy!_

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May had rolled around faster than anyone expected, and the UVA grounds were abuzz with nerves and anticipation for the summer months ahead. Elizabeth, Henry, Julia and all their friends were busy studying for finals, trying their best to internalize all the information they'd learned in the past semester. Time was split between the library, the dorms, and Henry's apartment, with the odd coffee or cafeteria run thrown in for good measure. Or basic sustenance, depending on how you saw it.

Everyone's stress had manifested in different ways. Henry, ever the contemplative thinker, retreated into the archives and surrounded himself with dusty old scrolls, shutting out the world post-sixteenth century. Elizabeth preferred the library adjacent to the Lawn — it was more social, and she didn't have to feel cut off from the world as she dove deep into political and legal jargon that may as well have been written in Latin, not that parts weren't. Julia flitted across the grounds, she needed a constant change in scenery to occupy her mind. Their friends all had a mixture of study habits, which made it easy to find someone to cram with at short notice.

Finals also meant Henry's TA position was taking up more of his time, so consequently he and Elizabeth had less time to spend with one another. That only served to make the coffee dates they managed to squeeze in that much sweeter, and they savoured every moment together.

One bleak afternoon, they sat opposite each other in their favourite coffee shop, steaming beverages between them. It had been drizzling all day, and the sky was grey and overcast, not helping the general gloom that hovered over the students as finals crept closer. Normally, Elizabeth and Henry would spend the moments they had together talking, catching up on each other's lives, or just _being_ , but today they were as stressed as everyone else, and the proof lay on their table.

Books, notes and manuscripts covered the tabletop, as chemistry formulas overlapped with religious texts and annotated Bible verses. Highlighted passages dotted the pieces of paper, and in the middle of all the books, Elizabeth had put her head down for 'just a minute' and dozed off to sleep. Her blonde locks pooled around her head and fanned out on the table, as her chest rose and fell to the steady rhythm of her breathing. Henry, meanwhile, was oblivious to her nap, too focused on a passage by Aquinas to notice anyone around him.

He only spied his girlfriend out of the corner of his eye when he went to flip a page, and he set his book down, unable to suppress a chuckle. She was just adorable, he thought, somehow having managed to shut her eyes in the hustle and bustle of the café, a light snore escaping her lips. She looked so peaceful, he almost didn't dare wake her, but he reluctantly reached a hand over to her shoulder, gently shaking it.

"Wake up sleepyhead," he whispered, leaning across the table. She shot up, confused and incoherent for a moment, and he couldn't help but laugh a little at her frazzled expression. The look she gave him as she realized she'd fallen asleep was priceless, and she swatted his hand away with a huff. He only grinned wider at her antics, his eyes sparkling as he took in her messy hair and the sweater that had slipped from one of her shoulders.

She blushed and tried to fix her hair, and Henry leant over to help, pushing a golden lock behind her ear. He smiled and kissed her cheek, pulling back to look her over again. "Elizabeth, you either need a break, or a nap. What's it gonna be, Babe?" He needed to get them a change of scenery — anything to take their minds off of exams, if only for a little bit.

"Mhmm, okay," she said, stifling a yawn. "I'm liking the nap idea."

"Sounds good." He smiled as they packed up their things, heading back to his apartment so Elizabeth could get some much needed rest.

…

He lent her the requisite sweater and shorts when they got there, and she changed into them gratefully — the lack of sleep over the past few weeks was finally getting to her. Henry pulled back the covers for her and she slipped in, pulling the quilt up to her nose, cocooning herself in the bed. He dipped down to press a kiss to her temple. "Sleep well."

Henry turned to leave the room, but she gripped his hand, looking up at him from her cocoon of blankets. "Stay." She looked so small in that moment, the angle revealing her true age, only 19, and obscuring the steely strength she portrayed to the world. His heart melted at her innocent request, and he couldn't bring himself to leave her — hell, he could never deny her anything.

So Henry promised to be back in just a second, and went to grab his books. He sat on the bed next to Elizabeth, leaning up against the headboard. One of his hands held open the text as the other stroked her hair, lulling her to sleep. Much to Henry's surprise, she actually stayed sleeping for a good hour and a half, her chest rising and falling rhythmically to her even breaths. Henry worked for most of the time, getting through a good chunk of his text, but eventually, he put the book down and turned his head to watch Elizabeth sleep.

She was buried deep in the mountain of blankets, snoring softly again, all her worries kept at bay as she left the realm of consciousness. She grew more beautiful every day he saw her, Henry mused, awash with a gratefulness and sense of pride in the simple fact that he was able to see her like this — raw and fragile, but still incredibly strong.

As he stared down at Elizabeth, his thoughts shifted in another direction: the summer. They'd never officially discussed any plans, and he'd been toying with an idea for a while, but he was still anxious about how she would react. Henry had met Will, Elizabeth's only _real_ family, and she had met Maureen — he shuddered remembering the disaster that had followed — but they'd never talked about anyone else. Now, however, summer was upon them, and they had yet to actually decide on anything.

Henry's parents knew he was dating someone, and were happy for him (though he didn't know if his dad's happiness was genuine or added into phone calls by his mother). His mom had even asked when they'd meet the girl he couldn't stop talking about, and he'd blushed and said: "soon enough." Truthfully, Henry couldn't wait to introduce Elizabeth to his parents, he knew his mother would absolutely adore her, hell, who didn't — he only hoped she wouldn't shy away at the suggestion.

As Henry was mulling all this over in his head, Elizabeth was starting to wake up. She stretched her arms and arched up from the bed like a cat, yawning ever so slightly. Henry grinned and chuckled, bending down to press a kiss to her lips.

"Sleep well?" he asked.

"Mhmm. You really did stay."

"Where else would I be?"

"Hmm," she sighed contentedly and smiled up at Henry. He really was too perfect for his own good sometimes. "Do the perfect gentleman moves ever get to your head?" she teased. "I mean, do you ever look in the mirror and go 'I'm just so perfect today, like every day'?"

Henry broke out into laughter at that, playing along with the joke. "Well, actually…" he started, a smirk on his face.

"Idiot." Elizabeth shoved his arm playfully, and pretended to pout. She couldn't keep a straight face for long though, and soon joined in the laughter.

"Babe, I have a question." It was now or never, Henry thought, and he steeled himself as he gave it a shot.

"What is it?"

"Do you have any summer plans yet?"

Elizabeth looked over at Henry, who seemed completely serious, and carefully thought about her answer. What was he implying exactly? Did he have plans for the two of them? Not that she hadn't thought about spending time with him over the summer, she just hadn't really thought about it at all—

"No," Elizabeth said, interrupting her train of thought before she speculated too much. "I mean, I was gonna go to the farm for part of it, meet Will somewhere, but not really," she clarified, feeling a need to have _something_ planned, if only that.

"Well," Henry began, trying to test the waters, "I'd been thinking, and it's totally okay if you think this is too early, but—"

"Yes?" She sat up, wondering what on earth he could be so flustered about.

"My mom is dying to meet you, and she said we could come up to Pittsburgh right after school was out." He looked at her expectantly, unsure if the suggestion had scared her off.

"You want me to meet your parents?" Elizabeth was stunned. Flattered but stunned. Henry wanted her to meet his parents. That was major. Sure, they'd said I love you and that was big, but parents? Elizabeth couldn't really wrap her head around it, especially since she had no parents of her own for him to meet.

"Yeah, is that okay?" Henry asked nervously, trying to break the silence.

"Your mom really wants to meet me?"

"Yeah."

"Henry, I, I've never done that before, the parents thing — boarding school and my parents happened you know… I'm not sure she'd be too happy with me."

"Elizabeth, that's nonsense, and you know it. My mom is gonna love you, I'm sure. She fawns over you in phone calls already," Elizabeth blushed at that, "I promise."

"She does?"

"Yeah," he smiled and kissed her cheek.

"But what about Maureen?"

"She's gonna have to get over herself. I love you, and they'll all love you, and Maureen's just Maureen."

"Okay." She surprised herself with that, but it was Henry, and his family, so what did she really have to lose? She loved him with all her heart, and wanted to be a part of his life. And his family, his big and rambunctious family, were part of the package. And she wanted to be a part of something like that again, after what had happened to her parents, so she took a leap, and went for it.

"Okay?"

"Okay, let's do it." She couldn't help but smile at how nervous he was, and looked at him reassuringly.

"You're incredible." He kissed her then, properly, winding his hands in her hair as she ran her hands up his chest, giving and taking in equal measure. They broke apart, panting, and she curled up in his arms, a feeling of contentment washing over her.

She was gonna meet his parents. Sure, it was daunting, and scary, but Henry would be there every step of the way, and that was all that mattered.

"I know." She winked at him with newfound confidence, and he laughed, and it was infectious.

"I love you, Elizabeth Adams."

"I love you too."

"Henry, we have to study…"

"Crap."

* * *

 _A/N: This was a plot setup chapter, so stay tuned — cause she's gonna meet his parents! Yay! Get excited for the trip to Pittsburgh! Reviews make my day!_


	20. Chapter 20

_A/N: Part 1 of meeting the McCords to follow. June McCord is purely my invention, but I love her dearly and want to give her a big hug. Enjoy, and reviews make my day brighter!_

* * *

Classes let out at the end of May, and Elizabeth and Henry were anxiously awaiting their trip to Pittsburgh. More specifically: Henry was full of excitement, while Elizabeth was deciding wether or not to join him or stick to dreading the whole thing altogether. Not that she didn't want to do this for Henry, but the thought of meeting his parents and possibly facing his sister again left Elizabeth with an uncomfortable, queasy feeling in the pit of her stomach.

Henry caught on to her uneasiness when they met up at his apartment to head over to his car, giving her a concerned look. "Babe, are you sure about this? If not, it's okay." Henry didn't want to push her too far, he had to make sure Elizabeth still had a way out if she needed it — meeting the parents was a big deal after all.

"I'm sure, Henry. That doesn't mean I'm not still nervous, but you'll be there, so it's gonna be okay."

Her trust and confidence in him made him wonder over and over again what he'd ever done to deserve her. "You're incredible," he said, pecking her lips before putting the last bag in the car.

She twirled around and sat down in the passenger seat, winking. "I know."

Henry just shook his head and laughed, the five-hour drive was sure to be an adventure. It was, they talked all the way up to Pennsylvania, about life, love, the fact that school was out — in essence everything but the upcoming visit to the McCord family home. Only when they exited the highway and began the last leg of their trip did Elizabeth dare show her true feelings, becoming increasingly jittery in her seat.

Henry reached over with his free hand and grabbed hers to calm her down, tracing soothing circles on her palm. "So your mom's name is June, your dad's Patrick, but likes to be called Pat. Your sisters are Maureen, who's married to Tom, and Erin, and you have a brother named Shane. Maureen's the only one with kids yet, and her son's name is John. Was that right?" she rattled off at breakneck speed, pausing only to take a breath.

"Yes," Henry said, stunned by the fact that she had managed to memorize the names of everyone so quickly. It betrayed her lingering insecurity, and had given her something to focus on, something to ensure she'd at least make somewhat of a good impression on Henry's family. "Babe, relax. They're gonna love you, I promise. Trust me on this one."

Elizabeth sighed and took a deep breath. "Okay."

…

They pulled up in front of the house in the afternoon, the sun shining brightly down, not a cloud in the sky. The house was typical to the neighbourhood — red bricks, a porch, and a gate fencing in the little bit of yard in the front. Trees lined the street, standing as tall and rigid as the houses arranged in orderly rows. It was perfectly suburban, quaintly ordinary, but to Elizabeth, it was everything she'd dreamed of having when her parents died. She imagined children playing on the streets, neighbours meeting for a cookout in the summer, dads mowing lawns as their wives tended to the flowers. She smiled as she imagined a young Henry in the midst of it all, meeting friends after school, heading to hockey practice, or just sitting on the stoop and gazing up at the stars.

As they got out of the car, Henry took the house in for himself. He had so many memories of growing up here; the friends, the family that was big and messy, and loud, and raucous — but always close by and ready to lend a helping hand when you needed it. Memories of his sisters and brother, who loved him but had always teased him for his fascination with books and great thinkers. Memories of his parents, his mom always fiercely supportive of his dreams, his dad always that little bit disappointed he didn't plan on becoming a steel worker someday. Overall though, Henry wouldn't have traded his childhood for the world.

Now, he stepped over to grasp Elizabeth's hand, glancing over nervously. He wondered what she must think of this house, and the neighbourhood — a far cry from the vast expanse of land she'd grown up on, or from the expensive boarding schools she'd attended. He was suddenly insecure, and she picked up on it immediately. "I love the house, Henry. It must've been a great place to grow up."

She squeezed his hand tighter and he smiled at her gratefully. He took a deep breath and led her up the steps to the front door, pressing the button for the doorbell. They both held their breaths as they heard shuffling from inside the house, and all of a sudden, the door swung open.

"You're here!"

June McCord stood in the doorway, a smile and look of genuine happiness on her face. She was not a tall woman, by any means, rather small and just a little plump — soft around the edges, as she jokingly said. She'd been a registered nurse before there had been too many children in her house and she'd started to stay home with them full-time. Now, as she watched her babies leave the nest one at a time, the house had become empty once again. So she went to volunteer at the local church and soup kitchen, her nursing and cooking skills proving extremely useful. She charmed everyone she met, and radiated pure joy to her surroundings.

Now, Henry was home, and he'd brought _the girl_ with him — the one he couldn't stop gushing about, the one she'd been dying to meet. If she was making her son happy, she had to be wonderful, June reasoned — she'd been overjoyed when Henry told her they were coming up to Pittsburgh for a visit.

"Mom!" Henry exclaimed, beaming. He pulled the small woman in for a tight hug, nearly picking her up in the process — the height difference wasn't nothing. "You look great! How have you been?"

"Missing my babies, as always. Henry, you look even more grown-up than the last time I saw you. I can't believe you're almost done with your Masters, your father and I are so proud of you."

Henry blushed at this, and turned to Elizabeth who'd kept to the side, not wanting to interrupt their moment. "Mom, this is Elizabeth Adams," he said, nudging his girlfriend forward.

"Elizabeth, it is so good to finally meet you! Henry has been talking about you non-stop!" she said, giving Elizabeth a knowing look. When she blushed furiously, June just laughed and pulled her in for a big hug, catching Elizabeth off-guard completely. Henry's mom wrapped her arms around her, and a comforting feeling immediately washed over Elizabeth. When the hug broke, June held her our at arm's length, looking her over carefully. She smiled brightly. "My, you're even more beautiful than Henry let on," she said with a twinkle in her eye.

Elizabeth blushed furiously again, looking over at Henry who had flushed a similar shade of crimson. _That's my mom for you_ , his eyes conveyed, and she smiled. June practically pulled them inside the house then, flitting to and fro, asking about the drive and fussing over the both of them. She offered them water, and snacks, and they both politely declined, having eaten only a short while earlier.

As June led them inside the house, Elizabeth took it all in — the photographs lining the walls, the sofas in the living room that looked _just_ worn in enough that you could tell the family had spent many nights there talking and laughing, the vintage floral pattern in various hues that covered _everything_ from drapes to cushion covers to upholstery. She was led to the cramped kitchen that was overflowing with freshly baked cookies and the copious amounts of food that June had been preparing for their impending arrival. Crayon drawings lined the fridge — gifts from nieces and nephews, from Henry's cousins, and some saved from her own children, though those had become more scarce as they grew up and moved out.

The house, Elizabeth decided, looked like a _home_.

She held Henry's hand as they moved from room to room, listening to June's stories and memories, chuckling as she told Elizabeth things about Henry's childhood — stories guaranteed to make her son blush. Just as they were supposed to.

Eventually, they found themselves seated in the living room, Henry and Elizabeth having taken a couch, and June perched on the armchair, eyeing them attentively. She had noticed just how her son acted around his girlfriend, acutely aware of her location in every room, and how he gravitated toward her, seeking out her presence and her touch. June couldn't help but root for the both of them, so glad they had found one another.

"So Elizabeth, tell me a little about yourself," June began.

"Well, I'm from Virginia, originally. My brother Will and I grew up on a horse farm there. I went to boarding school in Connecticut, and then started at UVA in the fall. Will's in med school now, to become a surgeon."

"That sounds lovely. And your parents? What do they do?" Henry shot his mother a look as soon as the words left her mouth, and June suddenly remembered what Henry had told her months earlier — that his girlfriend's parents had passed away.

An uncomfortable silence hung over the room, broken only by Elizabeth, who sat up straighter and looked over at June. "Oh, they passed away when I was twelve. My dad was a history professor at UVA and my mom curated art for a gallery in DC."

"Sweetheart, I'm so very sorry. Henry told me about your parents, but my scatterbrain…"

"Oh no, it's all right," Elizabeth reassured her. She tactfully changed the subject then, commenting on the lovely house, and the assortment of pictures on the fireplace mantle. Everyone was grateful for the shift in conversation, talking about the mundane for a few moments.

"Mom, Elizabeth and I still have all the suitcases in the car. We should probably bring them upstairs."

"Of course. I made up the bed in your room, and put a mattress on the floor. The guest room is full at the moment, so we'll have to trust that the two of you know to behave yourselves." Henry and Elizabeth both turned deep crimson, and June laughed. "I'm just teasing! Now go on, grab your things — I'll help carry."

…

Elizabeth and Henry were left alone in his childhood bedroom a few minutes later. Henry looked over at his girlfriend who was exploring the room, reading the certificates on the walls, scanning the titles of the books on his shelf, trying to paint herself a picture of a young Henry. She noticed him staring, and turned to face him.

"So," he began nervously, "my mom's a bit much, I know, but she means well."

"She's amazing Henry, really. I'm so glad you have her in your life. And the rest of it as well."

Henry pulled her in for a hug then, pressing a kiss to her her hair, breathing in her scent. "I love you," he mumbled, awash with gratefulness that she had reacted so well to his mother.

"Love you too." Pulling away, she surveyed the single bed and air mattress. "This could very well turn into a bunkbed repeat," she mused, smirking. "Though we would have to be extra careful here…"

"Elizabeth Adams, you are trouble," Henry said, grinning, moving to tickle her ribs. She giggled at the contact, and tried to wriggle from his grasp. He silenced her laughter with a searing kiss, pulling her close and wrapping his arms around her. As she moved closer to increase their contact, he pulled away abruptly, turning to the door. "We better go down again," he said, winking, "we wouldn't want to misbehave."

…

They descended the stairs again right in time to help June get dinner ready. "Who'd like to set the table," she asked. Elizabeth volunteered, knowing she'd be of little help with the food. Henry caught her little evasion tactic, and she just shot him a look, eliciting a chuckle from her boyfriend.

As Elizabeth set the table, Henry and his mom were left in the kitchen. "You did well honey," she said, "that girl's a keeper."

"Thanks mom," Henry said. "I'm so happy to have her in my life."

"She gets you completely, and that's a rare thing. Cherish it, and cherish her. You're not going to live it down otherwise." June turned around and pointed a ladle at her son, a serious look on her face.

"I know mom. I promise I will."

"All right, now don't you dare burn that stew!"

…

They got dinner ready as the front door opened, and Patrick McCord walked in, finished with his shift at the Union. He entered the house to find laughter coming from the kitchen, realizing Henry had come in today, with _the girl_. For the life of him he couldn't remember her name, and he sighed as he took off his coat and boots. This was going to be interesting.

"I'm home," he called, walking to the kitchen to wash his hands before going to the dining room. Henry's ears perked up at the sound of his dad's voice, and he mentally braced himself for the evening to follow.

As Patrick entered the room, all eyes turned to him. June was the first to talk. "You're late! Didn't you remember Henry and Elizabeth were coming today?"

Honestly, he had forgotten, but he now at least knew her name. Elizabeth. She looked at him shyly, and he pulled out a chair, sitting down with a huff. It had been a long day.

"Honey, aren't you going to say hello?" June admonished, and he stood again, crossing the room.

"Welcome home son," he said to Henry, pulling him in for an awkward hug. He then turned his attention to Elizabeth, shaking her hand. "Pat McCord, good to meet you."

"Pleased to meet you as well, I'm Elizabeth," she replied, but Patrick had already gone back to his chair and sat down. The others followed his lead, and dinner began in an awkward silence.

"Did you know Elizabeth grew up with horses?" June asked, trying to break the silence. She nodded over for Elizabeth to elaborate.

"Yeah, we have a horse farm in Virginia, with Thoroughbreds, mainly."

"Ah," Patrick glanced over suspiciously, returning to his stew without so much as another word.

"Henry told me you work for the steel union," Elizabeth said, trying to make conversation. Fortunately, it actually worked, as Patrick launched into an impassioned discussion of workers' rights, at which everyone else smiled politely and nodded when appropriate, shooting Elizabeth grateful looks for saving the evening. She just smiled and shrugged her shoulders, eating her stew.

…

Later that night, after Henry had decided to put the dinner and ensuing conversation in the living room out of their misery, he and Elizabeth headed upstairs to get ready for bed. They changed into their pyjamas after brushing their teeth in silence, letting the day wash over them again.

Forgoing the air mattress, they slipped under the covers of Henry's twin bed, tangled together. "I'm sorry about my dad," he started, "he's not the warmest person in the world."

"It's okay babe," she replied, pressing a kiss to his lips. "There's always tomorrow." No words were needed for the silent thanks Henry conveyed as he looked at her in the near darkness, so grateful she was giving his dad another chance. Not that he necessarily deserved it.

"Now sleep," she whispered. "I'm dead tired."

"Me too."

* * *

 _A/N: To be continued, with more McCords! Let me know what you think!_


	21. Chapter 21

_A/N: I'm back with more McCords! Enjoy! Side note, this story is getting so long that I think this may be the last major subplot before I find an end. Don't worry, that only means I'll be able to start a new story, at a different point in their relationship!_

* * *

Elizabeth and Henry woke up not to gentle rays of sun streaming through the windows, or a blaring alarm clock, but an entirely different sound coming from downstairs. The front door to the row house fell closed loudly, shutting with a thump, and they heard a faint "have a good day," echoing from the hall as the lock clicked.

Pat McCord had gone off to work. Elizabeth and Henry were now definitely awake, yawning and stretching, disentangling themselves from one another as they rolled out of the twin bed. Still enveloped in a comfortable silence, Henry opened the blinds and let the early morning sunlight fill the room. Elizabeth strode over to him then, and tucked herself into his arms, yawning again. She smiled up at him, and he returned the gaze, pressing a kiss to the crown of her head.

"Morning," he mumbled, running a hand over his face and rubbing the last remnants of sleep from his eyes. She giggled at his messy hair and smoothed it back into place, pecking his cheek.

"Coffee?" she asked, her eyes still hooded with sleep. He nodded and they linked hands, threading their fingers together as they padded down the stairs in search of caffeine and food.

They entered the kitchen to find June sitting at the table with a steaming mug of coffee and the morning newspaper, flipping through the pages as she took sips from her cup. She looked up to see her son and his girlfriend shuffling tiredly across the linoleum floor, their brains foggy with sleep.

"Good morning," she said cheerfully. "You two are rays of sunshine in the morning,"

June added, chuckling at their obvious fatigue.

Elizabeth blushed and dipped her head. "Good morning," she replied, trying to seem more awake and not like a zombie that had just risen from a months-long hibernation. June just laughed and pointed over at a steaming pot of coffee, winking.

Henry moved over to grab two mugs, kissing his mom's cheek along the way. "Thanks," he said, filling the cups and handing one to Elizabeth. "You make the best coffee."

They both took sips of the brown liquid and Elizabeth couldn't help but nod, the coffee really was very good. "I have waffles too, if you're hungry."

Breakfast was quiet, as both Elizabeth and Henry were still adjusting to the new day, and June let them off the hook, not making too much conversation. After, when they were clearing the plates and moving to fill the dishwasher, she broke the silence. "Henry — Erin and Shane are coming down for lunch, and Maureen is going to join us all for dinner. Elizabeth, brace yourself, the McCord household is about to get a little more raucous."

"I'm looking forward to meeting them," Elizabeth said with a genuine smile. From what Henry had told her about his other siblings, they seemed kind and much less abrasive than Maureen. And as for Maureen herself, Elizabeth would just have to get through it somehow.

"Henry," June said again, "I need you to head down to church this morning. I left some papers with Father Walsh and they have to be picked up. Besides, he's been asking how your Masters has been going for so long, I thought it'd be best for you to talk to him yourself."

"Okay mom," Henry acquiesced, dreading the meeting slightly — Father Walsh was old and _loved_ to talk, meaning the whole thing would be a long, hard to understand affair.

"Oh, and Elizabeth and I will get everything ready, it's about time we had some girl-talk." She smiled over at Elizabeth, whose facial expression perfectly hid the queasy feeling pooling in her stomach again. Alone time with Henry's mom was not exactly her idea of a fun morning; there were too many things that could go wrong, too many ways she could convince June she wasn't the perfect girlfriend, but rather a commitment-shy, awkward person who had no idea how to handle the whole parents thing.

It was gonna be _great,_ she huffed, her thoughts dripping with sarcasm.

…

Henry left for the church then, and Elizabeth and June cleaned up the plates from breakfast. June made them both more coffee, and she invited Elizabeth to come sit on the couch — they had some time before they had to start on lunch.

Sat opposite June McCord, Elizabeth felt her nerves flutter again. She looked over with a shy gaze, and June picked up on it immediately.

"Sweetheart, it's okay. I'm not going to bite your head off."

Elizabeth relaxed visibly at that, June really had a special something about her; she calmed her down and made her feel comfortable. _Like a mother_ , Elizabeth couldn't help but think. Her own mom had been like that, and she relished in the fact that she was able to feel that again.

"So Elizabeth, I hear you're studying political science. Any ambitions in that regard?"

"I'm not really the political type," she responded. "I think there's too much bureaucracy involved, and honestly, I can't see how anyone gets anything done. I'd much rather help from another place, be on the outside and try to effect change."

"Sounds like a perfect plan, dear."

The two of them talked until the coffee got cold, about Elizabeth's life, and Henry's childhood — about anything and everything, really.

"I do want to apologize for forgetting yesterday," June said at one point, referring to Elizabeth's parents. "I can't imagine what it must've been like for you, losing _both_ parents."

Elizabeth smiled politely, she really had begun to come to terms with the loss, but it was painful nonetheless. It was something you really had to go through yourself to understand.

Leaning over from her perch on the armchair, June took Elizabeth's hand. "Dear, it's perfectly all right to not have it all figured out. I lost my mother when I was fourteen, and my father had to fend for himself from then on. I helped as much as I could, with my younger siblings, but looking back, it does force you to grow up so, so fast. You have a brother right?"

"Yes, his name is Will. He's older than me, but I've always had an eye on him, trying to keep him out of _too_ much trouble." Elizabeth choked out a laugh, trying her hardest not to let her feelings get the better of her. She was amazed June understood — losing a parent, or two, was such a unique circumstance. Having someone else go through the same thing was relieving to Elizabeth, a reminder that she wasn't completely alone with the loss, that she was understood.

"Oh honey," June said, seeing the unshed tears pooling in Elizabeth's eyes. "I understand completely. It took me a long time to come to terms with it." She moved to sit next to Elizabeth on the sofa, wrapping an arm around her shoulder, pulling her close. Elizabeth felt so at home in the embrace, truly safe in a way she'd only felt in her own mother's arms — before everything happened. She couldn't help the tears that began to flow, and June just pulled her closer, rubbing a hand up and down her back, rocking her gently.

When Elizabeth had no more tears left, she sniffled and looked up. "Thank you," she whispered.

"Oh, sweetheart, it's not a problem at all. I'm always here if you need me. Now, let's get ourselves cleaned up a bit, we don't want to miss lunch!"

Elizabeth smiled and chuckled, Henry's mom was truly remarkable. The two of them chatted about happier things as they got ready for lunch, laughing and bonding over childhood memories and funny stories.

…

Henry got back from the church then, and let himself in the house quietly. He entered the kitchen, finding his mother and girlfriend busy working on lunch, in coordinating aprons, having a visibly good time. The sight made his heart swell, and he fell in love with Elizabeth all over again. She liked his mother, and his mother liked her.

"You two sound like you're having fun," he said by the way of a greeting. Both women turned around to look at him then, and smiled widely.

"We are," Elizabeth said, and Henry walked over to kiss her cheek. God, how he loved her. His mother just stood there and beamed.

The doorbell rang then, signalling the arrival of Erin and Shane. Erin had just started her undergrad at Penn State, and Shane had been there for a few years already, so they commuted home together. Henry was the one to go greet them at the door, while Elizabeth and June secured everything in the kitchen before heading out into the hallway themselves.

"You're home!" she cried, wrapping both her children in tight hugs. The more McCords in the house, the happier June was. She smiled at both of them and proceeded to start the onslaught of questions. Henry had ducked out of the line of fire and walked over to Elizabeth instead, holding her hand as they watched June fawn over her children.

They broke apart a few minutes later, and Erin and Shane looked just that little bit relieved that the grilling was over. Henry was trying his hardest not to laugh.

"Erin, Shane, meet Elizabeth," he said, nudging her forward again. She smiled politely at them and reached out her hand, which they shook.

"It's so nice to meet you," Erin said, "I finally have someone my age in this house!" Being the youngest of all the siblings, Erin was looking forward to the fact that Elizabeth was in the same year of college she was, albeit older by a few months.

After they had gone through introductions, and June had herded them all to the table, lamenting the food would get cold, everyone struck up conversation.

Shane was finishing his business degree, and said he'd met a girl — eliciting a chuckle and look of disbelief from Henry. His brother's girlfriends never lasted. Erin was getting used to college life, and she and Elizabeth found common ground in the first-year woes of finals, crazy professors, odd roommates and all the rest of it.

Elizabeth politely let Erin and Shane lead the conversation, not sharing too much about herself and testing the waters a little. Only when the questions from her boyfriends siblings began to be directed toward her did she open up and patiently answer.

Erin was immediately jealous Elizabeth had grown up with horses, as she always dreamed of riding when she was little, but never had the chance. Elizabeth promised she had an open invitation to the farm to get on a horse, and Erin beamed.

The rest of lunch, and the ensuing cleanup went by quickly. After, Erin and Shane headed upstairs to unpack their bags, and Elizabeth and Henry found a minute to themselves. Henry suggested they go for a walk and they meandered down the street, arms linked.

When they rounded the corner and entered a little park, Henry stopped them and turned so he was facing Elizabeth. He crashed his lips to hers then, and she squeaked at the surprise contact. She welcomed it though, wrapping her arms around his neck as his hands settled on her hips. Their kissing was becoming increasingly heated, and the back of Elizabeth's mind that still processed rational thought was glad they were relatively secluded behind the trees.

Breathing hard, they pulled apart for air, and she looked at Henry with a perplexed expression. "I love you," he simply said, as if that explained everything. At her confused look, he elaborated. "You're amazing, you know that? I'm so happy you're getting along with everyone — I told you they'd love you." He grinned and pressed a quick kiss to her lips.

"Love you too," she replied, smiling. "And this is going better than expected, your mom is really sweet. You never told me she lost her own mother."

"Yeah, she did. She always said it forced her to grow up very fast, and thinking about it now, it must have been the same for you. I never really made that connection."

"It's okay, it's not really something you can understand if you haven't gone through it. It was nice to have someone to talk to about it." She shrugged and gave Henry a small smile.

"C'mere." He pulled her into a hug, and Elizabeth melted into his embrace, warm and safe in his arms. Her own little bubble, she always thought.

"We should get back," she said, reluctantly breaking the hug. They walked back to the house hand in hand, Elizabeth leaning her head on Henry's shoulder.

They stepped inside just in time to hear Maureen say: "I'm home, and Tom's almost here!" before she turned around to see Elizabeth and broke out into a grimace, which was replaced quickly by a sickeningly sweet smile.

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A/N: Dun, dun, dun… Stay tuned for more Maureen! Reviews make my day brighter.


	22. Chapter 22

_A/N: This story is coming to an end soon! I have one more chapter planned after this one, so our end will be chapter 23. Thank you so much for sticking with me on this wild ride — I've loved every sentence of it!_

 _This is the fated Maureen chapter, we may need cleanup afterward. Just kidding, it won't be that bad! Enjoy, and as always, reviews make me smile._

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They stepped inside just in time to hear Maureen say: "I'm home, and Tom's almost here!" before she turned around to see Elizabeth and broke out into a grimace, which was replaced quickly by a sickeningly sweet smile.

"Hello," she said politely, holding out her hand for Elizabeth to shake. She did, and then Maureen turned to Henry, giving her brother a hug. Henry hugged her reluctantly, forcing a smile to hide the fact that he had most definitely caught the grimace from earlier. He only hoped Maureen would keep it together for the sake of their parents, but his sister was unpredictable, so there were no guarantees.

June heard the commotion from the hallway and soon came in to welcome her eldest daughter home. Erin and Shane followed suit, trailing down the stairs to say hello to their sister. June wrapped Maureen in a tight hug, and smiled as she looked her over. Everyone was home, and she was content.

Maureen had always been her father's daughter, as Henry had been his mother's son. Erin and Shane were more independent in that regard, and never had that special bond with either parent. It made things in the McCord household a bit tense at times, but always full of energy and good natured teasing and arguments. It was loud and raucous — the polar opposite of what Elizabeth had growing up after her parents passed away, and she was eager to go back to something that reminded her of the days on the horse farm.

As everyone was exchanging hellos and moving from the hall to the living room, the door opened again, and Tom appeared with baby John in his car seat, meaning the whole procedure started all over again. Hugs were shared, hellos were said, and everyone cooed at the baby, so small and innocent in his seat, unaware of the subtle tension brewing in the room.

Thankfully for Elizabeth, the conversation that was started once everyone filed into the living room mostly concerned Maureen and Tom. She found out they'd been adjusting well to parenthood, and now that Tom's temporary relocation close to DC was up, Maureen was relieved to be moving back to Pittsburgh. She preferred to be close to everything and everyone, so as not to miss out on anything happening to her family.

Or, as Henry mentally put it, to be aware of all the gossip and possible information she could use against people. His sister had always had a talent for finding people's weaknesses and hitting them right there.

Elizabeth sat fairly quietly during the conversation, filled with a sinking feeling that it was all going a bit too well. She kept waiting for the other shoe to drop, for Maureen to question her commitment to Henry again, for her to criticize her upbringing, her motives, or anything else she could latch onto. Henry was feeling the same, watching his sister's every move with apprehension, trying to read her.

He hadn't spoken to Maureen since that late-night phone call. The one where she'd basically told him that his relationship with Elizabeth meant nothing, that she was just using him and she'd dump him once she got bored. The one where she'd hung up on him as he was trying to let her know exactly how much her words had hurt him, had hurt his girlfriend, had hurt their relationship — because he hadn't thought she was capable of stooping so low. He'd defended her to Elizabeth, without believing she could ever lose her filter that much.

As a result, he'd hurt Elizabeth, something he still regretted, and something he still worked to make better — vowing never to blindly dismiss her ever again. Their fight had, however, resulted in both of them saying _I love you_ for the first time, and Henry couldn't help but smile as he thought back to that night, how nervous she'd been to say it and the look of pure joy on both their faces when they'd admitted it and put their feelings out in the open.

Lost in his thoughts, Henry blindly sought out Elizabeth's hand and clasped it in his own, needing tangible proof that she was there, that it wasn't all a dream, that their relationship was actually real. It seemed too perfect to be true sometimes, and he had moments where he was afraid to wake up to a reality where she wasn't there.

Elizabeth had similar thoughts coursing through her brain, as she tried to read Maureen — something she'd always been innately good at. His sister was a bit of an enigma though, she'd decided, entirely unpredictable in the way she interpreted a situation, and in the backhanded ways she expressed her feelings, mainly those of displeasure. For now, Elizabeth settled on watching Henry's sister's every move, as she entwined her fingers with her boyfriend's — a silent expression of solidarity, her rock in the storm that was her feelings.

…

As nothing out of the ordinary had happened and dinner was fast approaching, Elizabeth let herself breathe a sigh of relief and let her guard down a little. Pat had come back from work, welcoming his children, son-in-law and grandson with the gruff expression that perfectly hid the happiness he secretly felt. They all sat down to dinner then, a slightly awkward silence hanging over the room.

Maureen was the one to break it, going straight for the kill. "So Elizabeth, I hope you're not too disappointed by our lack of stables and pastures. We're situated, how should I say, more, traditionally."

Elizabeth was stunned for a moment, not quite sure how to respond to that. She could practically feel the anger radiate off Henry, and so she quickly placed a hand on his knee to placate him.

"The house is lovely," she said after thoughtful consideration, taking a moment to glance over at June and smile. "And it seems like this must've been a great neighbourhood to grow up in, with children all around."

That shut Maureen up for a little while; she was not expecting such a diplomatic and calm response from Elizabeth, nor was she expecting Henry to stay quiet, albeit visibly fuming on the inside. She was realizing quickly that Elizabeth had a tougher skin than she thought, and breaking her was going to take a little more work than anticipated.

Dinner continued with other conversations, as Pat was finally catching up with his children, complaining about the state of the union, as usual, whilst June fussed about them all, wanting to make sure everyone had plenty of food and was happy. Which they all reassured her that they were, of course, that the food was delicious, and she ought to just sit back herself and relax a little.

"So what exactly do your parents do, Elizabeth?" Maureen asked then.

All eyes were on her, and Henry and June were visibly uncomfortable, passing looks that clearly conveyed the same thing. They had forgotten to inform everyone of the sensitive nature of that question, and were bracing themselves for the inevitable fallout. Henry gripped Elizabeth's hand tight, letting her know he was there to support her.

"I mean, I'd assume they got the money from somewhere, and there has to be a trust fund set up to cover boarding school and college. Or did your parents inherit?" she continued, totally missing the looks being shot at her from two sides now. "I mean, that much money, and you said you moved to Bethesda before boarding school, and that's a wealthy neighbourhood…"

"Well," Elizabeth began, clearing her throat, knowing there was no way to get out of this little pickle. "My mom was a curator at a gallery in DC, and my dad taught history at UVA. That is, up until about seven years ago, when they were in a crash. Umm… they didn't make it. Will and I, we moved to Bethesda to live with our aunt and uncle. They, they never wanted kids of their own, so they sent us off to boarding school. The horse farm is still there, and we can start living there any time if we ever want to."

She scanned the room apprehensively, trying to gauge everyone's reactions. Maureen had lowered her head, this was a step too far, even for her, and she was genuinely sorry she'd brought up the topic in the way she did. June and Henry were sending Elizabeth apologetic glances, and the rest of the family looked a little stunned, as if they were unsure of what to say.

"I'm so sorry for your loss." It was Erin who spoke first, genuine sympathy in her eyes, and Elizabeth smiled at her, she really was sweet. Everyone else joined in the chorus of remarks, and Elizabeth politely thanked them all for their consideration.

Fearing dinner would continue in dead silence when they had all stopped speaking, she quickly changed the subject. "Do you have any plans for the summer now that school's out?" she asked, turning to Erin and Shane. The change in conversation was much appreciated, and everyone moved on to lighter things. After a while, they'd been talking about where they wanted to travel the most, and Erin piped up.

"You know, this sounds so cliche, but I've always wanted to go to Paris. It just seems so beautiful and magical."

"It really is," Elizabeth mused, fondly remembering the summers she'd spent there.

"Have you been?" Erin asked, unable to hide the eagerness from her voice.

"Yeah, Will and I were sent there for a few years over the summer to learn French and not burden our aunt and uncle. We lived with host parents in the middle of the city and it was really lovely. If you ever get the chance to go, do it, it's such an amazing place." She left out the parties and late nights traipsing through the city streets for the time being, figuring she'd better save those stories for when Henry's parents and Maureen were not there.

"Oh I will!" Erin said enthusiastically, "Once my student loans allow it, that is."

"Of course," Elizabeth replied. College was expensive, and so was travel.

"Not that _Queen Elizabeth_ would actually understand a lack of finances," Maureen huffed under her breath, but not quietly enough. Everyone whipped around to look at her, and Henry felt the rage build and his blood boil.

"What did you just say?" he hissed, shooting his sister a look. "What did you just call Elizabeth?"

"Nothing," she replied, trying to deflect.

"Don't say that! You called her _Queen Elizabeth_ , like she's somehow lording over all of us because of where she grew up. Which she is not. She's been nothing but nice to you ever since you met the first time, even though you've been horrible to her. Just because she has a different background than you does not mean you have any right to criticize her for it."

All eyes were on the siblings now, as they faced each other in their verbal sparring match, so full of pent-up anger begging to be released.

"Look at who you've become," Maureen spat. "Ever since you went to that fancy college and got your fancy, abstract degree you've been preaching the moral high ground to all of us. But what makes you better than we are? What suddenly makes us not good enough, why are you running off with some rich girl just to avoid where you're really from?"

"Maureen! I will not tolerate language like that in this house," June intervened. She was furious, and embarrassed Elizabeth had to witness this. Elizabeth herself sat there, stunned and unable to speak. She'd never seen Henry quite so angry, and she'd certainly never heard him orally lash out like this.

"It's not like anything I've said is untrue," Maureen continued, trying to defend herself.

"Maureen—" June started again, but this time Henry beat her to it. He pushed his chair back roughly, and got up, turning to Elizabeth.

"Come on, babe. We're not dealing with this anymore," he said, taking her hand and moving out of the room, out of the house, just as far away as he could possibly get. Elizabeth followed him reluctantly, unsure of what to do. She glanced over her shoulder briefly as they left the dining room, looking back at stunned faces.

They left the house in silence, and began walking down the street, Henry's hand still tightly gripping Elizabeth's. She had no idea where he was walking, but decided to let him take the reins on this, and just follow along until he calmed down.

Henry was furious. He couldn't believe his sister, the nasty comments she'd so nonchalantly delivered at the dinner table, the constant digs she made at Elizabeth. It made his blood boil, but above all, it filled him with such shame, that he'd brought his girlfriend home and promised her she'd be loved and accepted, only to be met with this behaviour.

They stopped in the same park he'd led them to the day before, and Henry let go of her hand, choosing instead to pace back and forth in front of her. She placed her hand on his chest to stop him, and force him to meet her eyes.

"Hey, are you okay?" she asked. He was seething, and she tried desperately to calm him.

"Baby, I'm so sorry about Maureen."

"Henry," she said, reaching for his hands and taking them in her own. "It's not your fault. You have nothing to do with this. Okay?" She led them to a park bench and they sat, her chin tucked into Henry's chest, right where it belonged.

"I love you so much," was all he could manage, awash with gratefulness at this remarkable woman, this impossibly strong, intelligent, beautiful woman who amazed him every second of every day. How she took all of this in stride baffled him, and he was lost for words, so he simply pressed a kiss to the crown of her head, pulling her close.

"I love you too. And it's really okay. It hurt, and stuff like that always will. But I'm sure she didn't mean half of what she said — a lot can happen when you're caught up in the moment."

"Hmm. You know, my dad always wanted me to work in the steel mill with him. He wasn't exactly thrilled when I told him I was more interested in theology and ethics. And when he saw how expensive college would be at the schools I really wanted to go to. So I told him I'd sign up for the ROTC to help pay and he seemed to understand that — it was 'manly' enough. Not that I don't love flying planes, don't get me wrong. But I just think at some point, they all didn't realize that college didn't actually change me, that it just let me do things I'd been passionate about all along."

"Yeah," she agreed. "Family is difficult, no matter what situation you're in."

"If anything, I think college changed me for the better. I met you." He dipped down to kiss her, and she grinned at the feeling of his soft lips on hers.

"Hmm, I could say the same myself. Should we go back?"

"Are you ready to face them again?" Henry asked. He was still so on edge from before, and he had to make sure she was okay.

"Yeah, I think so. I mean, we've got each other, and we'll be fine."

"I love you," he said again.

"I know," she teased, grinning.

…

They made it through the next two days without any major incidents. June had apparently given Maureen quite the talking-to after Henry and Elizabeth left, and it had worked. Maureen didn't dare speak very much, and everyone was grateful. When it was time for them to head back to Virginia so Henry could report for the summer training the ROTC required of him, and so Elizabeth could go back to the farm, June hugged them both tightly and wished them the best as she sent them off. With a brown paper bag full of sandwiches, of course.


	23. Chapter 23

_A/N: This is it! The last chapter! It is crazy to think this all began six months ago, and was one of the first pieces of fiction I've ever written. Thank you to everyone who has read this, reviewed, followed and favourited, your feedback means the world. And thank you to everyone who I've been able to bounce ideas off of, you know who you are. I'm sad to see this story ending, but I have plans to pick up a few years into the future with our favourite couple, so look out for that! Until then, thank you again and I hope I did the ending justice! Reviews make me smile._

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After Henry and Elizabeth had driven back to Virginia, he'd left for summer training at Quantico, and she'd gone out to the horse farm. That had been the first week of June. Now, she found herself halfway through July, and she was restless.

Communication with Henry was a challenge since the ROTC limited his phone calls and correspondence. She'd only talked with him a few times over the past few weeks, and she missed him terribly. It was crazy to think they'd only known each other for six months now and she already factored him into her life so much that it pained her when they were apart. Before he'd left, he'd given her one of his Marines sweatshirts, and she'd worn it so much that it now only faintly smelled of Henry, but she still kept it close whenever missing him was too much.

Will had come by for a week and a half in June, and she'd been glad to see him. His visits were always short-lived though, and after a few days he'd told her rather unceremoniously that he was going to be spending the bulk of his summer in Africa, passing through various countries with an aid organization. So she hugged him, told him to be safe, and watched him drive off to the airport, like he always did. It had become their normal — Will would fly halfway around the world, she'd worry herself sick, and he'd show up for a little while to reassure her he was still alive and breathing.

Elizabeth spent most of her time with Starduster: grooming him, riding him, flying across the pastures with the wind in her hair, trying to feel as free as she possibly could, trying to forget that dull ache in her heart that came whenever she thought about Henry.

She had never felt physical pain from missing someone, (except for her parents, but that was different altogether) but Henry had changed that. It wasn't as if she felt it all the time, it was more like she had times when she'd realize he wasn't close and it felt like her whole being ached for him, like she was craving his touch. Which she was, she desperately missed his hugs and kisses, the way he pulled her close when they sat together, allowing her to tuck herself into the crook of his neck — right where she belonged. She felt the most at ease in Henry's arms, warm and safe and comforted.

Elizabeth forced those thoughts to the back of her head as she threw herself into the barn chores with even more fervour than usual. It surprised Frank, the stable manager, who'd always known Elizabeth was hard-working — but this was a lot, even for her. They did manage to get some projects done though, and he was grateful for the extra set of hands.

The worst time of the day was the evening, she'd decided. Even though she and Henry didn't live together, they'd fallen into a routine whenever she stayed at his place. She missed falling asleep in his arms, listening to his soothing voice as they talked before they went to bed — discussing everything and nothing, strengthening their connection, getting to know every inch of the other, in more ways than one.

It was as if Elizabeth had found an extension of herself in Henry over the past six months. She felt truly connected to him, and they often found themselves thinking the same thing at the same time, which was eery and oddly comforting all at once.

Being alone in the big farmhouse was solitary, and Elizabeth passed her time walking the halls, flooded with memories of Will and her parents as she poked around her childhood home. She'd even dared to go into her parents' old bedroom once or twice, which had remained practically untouched since that night in February. She flipped through old photo albums, kept in her mom's dresser drawer, letting years of Adams and Faulkner family history be revealed all over again.

It brought her back in time to a phase she'd had when she was ten, and Lizzie Adams was dead-set on becoming a historian, just like her dad. So her parents had sat her down one night and told her about their families, the Faulkner's (for her mother) and the Adams (on her father's side).

Eager and bright-eyed, she'd soaked up all the stories and laughed when her father told her once again that: "Lizzie, you are the descendant of some of the greatest heroes and scoundrels that the Commonwealth of Virginia has ever seen. If you've got one thing running through your veins, it's guts." She vowed that if she ever had children of her own, she'd make sure she told them that at least once in their lives.

Now, sitting cross-legged on her parents' bed, she felt tears pool in the corners of her eyes. For most of the year, she was the poster child for calm when it came to her feelings about her parents, having forced herself to compartmentalize and accept her fate. Every once in a while though, the grief came back, and she found herself in a situation very similar to her current one, sitting somewhere, thinking of them, just letting herself miss them and admit to the seemingly permanent tear in her heart.

Henry, her sweet and lovely Henry, had been the only thing to begin to repair that tear in the last few months. Stitch by stitch, he'd put her heart back together, his love for her healing the gaping wound in her chest. His words were like balm to her soul, and she came to lean on him over the course of their relationship, as she in turn became his rock, his person to lean on. Their relationship was very much one of equals, and she was content in knowing he cared just as deeply about them as she did. It filled her with a sense of calm.

…

It was the 16th of July. It had been six months since January 16th. Six months since Professor Watkins had chewed Elizabeth out for writing a paper with an opinion, something she apparently wasn't allowed to have as a woman. Six months since Henry McCord had run after her and apologized profusely for standing in that room like a mute fool. Six months since they'd gone out for coffee, and both fallen for the other, hard. Six months since she'd kissed him out in the cold, since she'd felt sparks fly that hadn't stopped since.

And she was alone on the 16th of July, and she felt like sobbing.

She'd spent the morning sitting in the window seat in her bedroom, listlessly looking outside and gazing across the pastures and woods, filling her mind with Henry. She'd begun replaying their past six months in her head, like her own little movie, and she was flooded with feelings as her brain recapped their milestones. Lost in her own head, she almost didn't hear the doorbell ring.

It ripped her out of her thoughts, and she padded down the stairs in her pyjamas and Henry's sweatshirt, not really caring what the unfortunate soul on the other side of the door thought of her appearance anyway. It was rare for anyone to come down to the farm unannounced, so she assumed it was the mailman or some lost tourist. Either way, her puffy eyes and red nose would have to do, she thought, smoothing down her hair in a futile attempt to look a little less like a zombie.

When she opened the door, it was neither the mailman nor a lost person. Her jaw dropped as she stared blankly at the figure on the other side, and she covered her mouth with her hand in shock. The person just smiled and looked her over, as she snapped out of her daze and flung herself at him.

Henry grinned and caught her easily, wrapping his arms around her slim frame and burying his nose in her hair. Five weeks had been too long. She tucked her chin in the crook of his neck and breathed in his scent. Her emotions were getting the better of her, and she couldn't hold back the tears that fell. Henry just rubbed soothing circles up and down her back, rocking her gently, his warm and solid presence surrounding her, cocooning her in.

As the tears ebbed and Elizabeth sniffled, she pulled back a little to gaze up at Henry. God, she looked positively awful, she thought, still in her pyjamas, with a blotchy face and messy hair. She blushed and dipped her head immediately, embarrassed she looked like such a wreck.

Henry was having none of it and he removed one hand from the small of her back to tip her chin upward. He ghosted his lips over hers, leaning impossibly close, and whispered, "You're stunning. I missed you," before pressing his lips to hers in earnest. She arched into the kiss, pressing their bodies as close as possible, needing to increase their contact. She leant into his touch, the touch she'd craved so often over the past few weeks. The kissing became heated quickly, as hands tangled in hair, bodies pressed flush, and tongues battled for dominance. When they both needed air, they pulled apart reluctantly, but never broke their embrace.

Breathing hard, Henry and Elizabeth grinned at each other like fools. "What the hell are you doing here?" she asked, still in disbelief.

"Well, I wasn't about to miss our six-month anniversary," he said matter-of-factly, and she beamed. It suddenly became very clear to her that they were both still standing in the doorway, so she pulled them inside, helping Henry with his bags. She offered him something to drink and they found themselves on the couch a few minutes later, content just being in each other's arms.

"I missed you, Henry," she finally murmured.

"I missed you too, babe. So much."

"It's so crazy to think it's only been six months," Elizabeth mused. "I feel like I've known you forever."

"Hmm." It was true, their connection was undeniable and sometimes, Henry found himself baffled at the fact that this incredible woman hadn't been in his life longer. It felt as though he couldn't really remember what it was like without her, like she'd become a permanent fixture he didn't ever want to lose. His love for her had become all-consuming.

Henry sat up then, and pulled Elizabeth with him. She looked at him questioningly, and he cleared his throat. "Uhh, I have something for you. And please don't take this the wrong way, I don't want to rush us into anything but…" he trailed off, reaching into his pocket and pulling out a small box.

Elizabeth was still confused, and he handed her the box and she opened it. Inside sat a key on a keychain, a unicorn keychain to be exact. It was a little white unicorn with a pink mane and pink, sparkly horn. She looked up and down between Henry and the key, still unsure of what to say.

Henry quickly backtracked to explain himself and calm her. "No, not like that! I um, it's a key to my apartment, and you can use it whenever you'd like… not that you have to, I just wanted you to have one…" He was rambling now, and Elizabeth was just grinning so she silenced him with a searing kiss.

Henry really was perfect, she thought, and she had a key to his apartment, which filled her with butterflies at the thought that their relationship had made it so far. Breaking the kiss, she looked him over, his stunned expression, his beautiful eyes, and she couldn't help the wide smile plastered all over her face.

"Thank you. I love you."

"Love you too."

She took a minute then to look at the key again, and especially the keychain. She couldn't suppress a giggle as she looked the little unicorn over. Glancing up at Henry, she laughed. "Umm… a unicorn?"

"Well," he admitted, sheepishly, "I was looking for a horse one, since you have horses and all but I couldn't find one. There was a unicorn, and that's close, and also they're special and you're special to me, and… this all sounds stupid." He chuckled nervously and shrugged his shoulders.

"So basically, you're saying I'm a mystical woodland beast?" she teased.

"Not necessarily," he said, trying to get himself out of this awkward situation.

"I'm teasing," she said, laughing and shoving him playfully. He joined in the laughter now too, and reached over to tickle Elizabeth's sides, leaving her squirming and laughing as she tried to wriggle away and catch her breath. They ended up laying on the couch, Henry perched over Elizabeth, his hot breath on her neck as she drew a breath.

He peppered kisses all along her neck and collarbones, before settling on her lips and pressing them together in a searing, drugging kiss. They were lost in one another, pressing and pulling, letting all coherent thoughts fall to the wayside as they sought to memorize every inch of the other.

They didn't yet have an explanation for the depth of their connection, the intensity of their bond. Right now, it was just new, and exciting and ever-exploring and they were so infectiously happy and smitten with one another.

Later, much later, when they were older and wiser, and had a life together with kids of their own, and they truly knew each other inside and out, they'd realize it. It had been love **_at first sight_**.

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 _Fin._


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